“Never mind the details. We paid off the army at one stretch of the cordon. The military will open the cordon for the Jews, who will go through metro tunnels to the outskirts to avoid drawing attention. Freight trains will be waiting on the other side of the cordon. The Jews will then travel to Le Havre in sealed boxcars, as if they were crates of ammunition.”
“Marvelous, but rather improbable. How many inhabitants, if I may ask, are in the Jewish town?”
“Only the wealthy will be on board, naturally. The poor will stay in Paris. Only the healthy will go, after a three-day quarantine in the boxcars. All in all, we should count on around three thousand people. The rest have died, or will in the near future. We have to leave as soon as possible. Staying in Paris is increasingly risky. Over and above the hundred-odd Jews that die of the plague every day, another catastrophe is looming over the Jewish town, one even more infectious than the plague. The Jewish territory borders the Belleville Soviet Republic. Since its inception, we’ve noticed dangerous ferment among our rabble. Just yesterday, the whole République neighborhood broke away from the Jewish town and attached itself to the Bolsheviks. Over a thousand merchants fell victim to the mob, and their properties were looted. The dregs of the Jewish town are just waiting for the right moment to follow suit… Staying in Paris is out of the question.”
“So you mean to say that an army of three thousand people will make it out of a cordoned Paris and no one will bat an eye?”
“That’s right. Everything has been prepared and taken into account.”
“It all sounds like a fantasy novel. But let’s suppose it’s true. If I understand you correctly, you want to take me with you, make room for me in your sealed boxcars. Am I right? And what favor will you demand of me in return?”
“A simple favor and something you’ll scarcely find difficult. The thing is, resettling such a large number of Jews somewhere nearby, in Europe, would be impossible. In any case, the plague will sooner or later jump the cordon and flood the rest of the Continent. We Jews aren’t fleeing Paris and paying all those millions just to have the plague strike us somewhere else. The Jews have to make it to somewhere totally safe: we must make it to America.”
“Bah! Surely you’ve heard that America has closed all its ports in fear of the plague, and no ship could get through to its shores without being bombed.”
“We know that just as well as you do. That is precisely why we are here. With your extensive contacts, you’ll see to it that America lets one ship through.”
“Nonsense.”
“Hold on. You won’t mention at all that the ship is carrying people from Paris, or even from Europe. You’ll say that the ship is on its way from Cairo. Everything will indicate this. The ship is waiting in Le Havre. It will sail from Le Havre at night, with all its lights off, so that it attracts no attention. Along the way, it will change its name and flags. It won’t be heading for New York or Philadelphia, but for some small port. It’ll land, drop off its passengers, and drift off into the night. No one will find anything out. All you have to do is use your contacts to get the local authorities to avert their attention for one hour. That’s it.”
David Lingslay sank into deep reflection.
“You are asking, sirs, that I bring the plague to America, no more and no less; because there can be no doubt that, of the three thousand people leaving Paris, it will break out in at least a few on the way, or after we land. I refuse.”
“You shouldn’t refuse before you give it some thought. Consider it carefully first.”
“I’ve already thought it over. I can’t take such a responsibility. Why did you choose America? Go to Africa, or to Asia.”
“There is nothing Jews can do in Africa, or in Asia. Every Jewish family has relatives in America, and America is the most protected from Europe. Besides, it’s in your interest that we Jews go to America. If we were to go to Africa or Asia, we wouldn’t need your help.”
“And you wouldn’t have any reason to take me with you. I understand that perfectly. Nevertheless, I can’t do what you ask of me. I am staying in Paris.”
“You’re suicidal. You want to kill yourself, even though you have the opportunity to be saved.”
“A dubious sort of salvation. If I take the plague with me when I escape to America, it’s not salvation, its only a deferral.”
“You’re a pessimist. Who says that one of the Jews on board will be carrying the plague? Doctors will examine everyone before we go. Everyone will undergo a three-day quarantine. If someone falls ill on the ship, they’ll just be thrown overboard. And even if, let’s suppose, one or two Jews fall ill after we land, you still can’t call that an epidemic. All of America won’t be infected by two Jews.”
“Out of three thousand, it might be more like three hundred sick Jews than just two.”
“Why be such a pessimist? You’ve always got to count on things turning out for the best. Give it some thought. We’ll come tomorrow for your reply.”
“I’ve already considered it, and I cannot agree to your proposal.”
“Is that your final word?”
“Yes, it’s final.”
The man in eyeglasses consulted for a moment with the old man in the frock coat and then turned once more to Mr. David Lingslay:
“You, sir, are an idealist.” (Lingslay smiled at the thought with involuntary pride). “We thought you were a practical man. You condemn yourself to die for fear of infecting a few Americans. You’re not considering that you would be saving the lives of a few hundred worthy Americans with capital who are trapped here in Paris, whom we are prepared to take on board our ship bound for America. In any case, if you’re such a humanitarian, why aren’t you concerned for those three thousand Jews who will be infected and killed by the plague if they are forced to stay?”
“Why should I feel concerned for those three thousand Jews and not for the million other residents of Paris who are also fated to die?”
“You can’t feel concern for everybody. You couldn’t live that way. You’ve got to be concerned for those nearest to you.”
David Lingslay’s features clouded. “Why do you think Jews in particular are near to me?”
The man in eyeglasses responded with a diplomatic silence.
Lingslay took out a cigarette, lit it, and nervously inhaled the smoke.
“It seems that I’m starting to understand the real source of this visit. You have discovered, gentlemen, in collecting your information about me, that my father was Jewish, and you thought that if I didn’t do it out of self-interest, I would do it out of sentiment. A Yiddishe hartz, as you say among yourselves. As for my Jewish heart, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I was brought up in America. America is where I made my fortune. I am an American. I owe nothing to the Jewish people, we have nothing in common. Our lines, which may have crossed in previous generations, have gone entirely separate ways. The matter of origins is strictly one for the record books here. The Jewish community has no cause to expect anything from me.”
The man in eyeglasses hastily objected.
“Who said anything about origins? I was just trying to suggest that you were behaving irrationally. A few Americans infected and dying is, in any event, no more than a possibility, whereas there is not the slightest doubt that you will die if you stay here another five or six days. Is that a logical equation? And what if not a single one of those three thousand Jews is sick? Such a possibility exists as well. Then not a single American would get infected. But instead of exploring this possibility, you prefer to resign yourself to the fact that in one week’s time, rather than being at home, in America, surrounded by your family and friends, far from infested Europe, you’ll be lying here, not even buried in the ground – the devil knows where, a mere heap of ash, because you are no believer in life after death. And don’t tell me you doubt for a moment that such an end awaits you here.”