The Legion of the Lost, стр. 60
‘But—but I assure you—’ began Palfrey.
Only then did he realise that there might be some truth in it; Karl might have been in contact with the real Swiss delegates; it was a contingency which no one could have foreseen. He swallowed a lump in his throat, eyeing von Otten helplessly.
Karl said in a low-pitched voice: ‘You damnable vermin! You come from a peaceful country to try to bring it under Nazi domination. I told you all that was going to happen, I thought you would have some shame left, that you would take the message back and make sure that it did not happen. Instead, you betrayed me—’
‘Be quiet, Karl!’ said von Otten softly. ‘You have suffered quite enough through talking wildly. Why make it worse for yourself? You were in touch with these men before they left Switzerland?’
‘I wish I had been!’ said Karl bitterly.
‘I—I am completely at a loss,’ said Palfrey, unsteadily. ‘I assure your Excellency that I had no idea that this man was a traitor. No idea at all. The cause—’
Karl said viciously: ‘Traitor? Traitor! You dare use the word, you do not shrink from it? It ought to make you writhe and burn with shame, it ought—’
The resident guard, who had been standing stolidly by, moved forward at a gesture from von Otten. He raised a hand and struck Karl across the face, making the man reel back and hit against the wall. The blow reopened a cut in his cheek, bringing blood.
‘It is remarkable,’ said von Otten smoothly. ‘I am almost disposed to believe you, Herr Professor. But Karl was in touch with subversive elements in Switzerland, there is no doubt at all about that. And you appeared to be the most likely people. I wonder,’ he added softly, ‘if Karl could be pretending? I wonder if he knows that you are agents working against us and that by this show of defiance he hopes to save you? It could be,’ the Count mused. ‘It would be quite clever and even amusing.’
‘Excellency!’ gasped Palfrey. ‘I assure you—I have never—the man was a complete stranger. He—I—’ Palfrey drew a deep breath and turned and pointed a dramatic finger at Conroy and Brian. ‘If you do not believe me, ask my colleagues!’
He uttered the last words with a ring of triumph, giving the impression of being almost simple-minded in the conviction that von Otten would be convinced by such sympathetic witnesses. He did it so well that von Otten regarded him with a faint tinge of contempt, touched with malice.
‘That is hardly necessary,’ he said. ‘I am sure they would support you.’ He regarded Karl with a sneering smile, then as the young officer straightened up again, shot out a gloved hand and sent him reeling backwards. ‘You’ve dealt with these men!’ he roared. ‘You’ve had dealings with them for months past. You wanted to get them back to Switzerland at once. You have admitted telling them everything, you wanted to give them full warning. Admit it, you dog, admit it!’
Karl said, thickly: ‘I wish it were true!’
‘But this—this is distressing!’ gasped Palfrey. ‘Excellency, you have admitted yourself that this man has suffered enough. I—I am not used to such violence, I must beg of you to desist.’
Karl shouted at him suddenly: ‘Not used to violence—-no, you smug hypocrite, you filthy vermin! You get a miserable pittance for helping the enemies of your country, you know that you are trying to damn them. You’ll cause every individual worse horror, greater agony, than they can ever make for me—and you say you don’t like violence! You don’t like—’ he took a step forward, his hand raised, but the guard sent him reeling back at another sign from von Otten.
The Count said smoothly: ‘But for one thing I would find this most convincing, Pienne. I am afraid that poor Karl is not capable just now of hiding his true feelings. Certainly he has no regards for you. But I understand from Stolte that your fourth colleague has returned to Switzerland. The fat fool did not take your passports as he should have done.’
‘Why, yes, he has gone back. His wife is ill—’
‘You mean he has gone to report what he has heard!’ shouted von Otten. ‘Answer me—has he gone to do that? Has he—’
‘Please!’ protested Palfrey, drawing himself up with an air that held a frightened dignity. ‘I am not used to such treatment, Excellency, nor to having my word doubted. Aarlack is distressed about the illness of his wife. Except that we were all present last night, when Aarlack played a not inconsiderable part in saving our lives, he has done nothing in Berlin. He was not fortunate enough to visit the Fräulein Silversen.’
‘The little bitch!’ snapped Karl fiercely. ‘I thought she might have some decency, but—she calls herself a Norwegian and she consorts with swine like von Otten! She works to betray her own people! I won’t be quiet!’ he shouted as von Otten started to speak. ‘If I can make any one of you begin to think what devils you are, what sadistic, in human swine, it will be something. There must be a spark of decency left in you somewhere.’ He turned wildly to Palfrey. ‘Get away from Berlin! Tell your people what I’ve told you, have the news sent to England, get it—’
Von Otten struck him.
Palfrey was amazed at the man’s strength; the fierceness of the punch which rocked Karl back on his heels. His eyes rolled, there was a thud as the back of his head struck the wall; then he slid down, lying unconscious at their feet.
Von Otten turned to the guard.
‘He will be shot, with the others, tomorrow morning.’
They walked along interminable passages, Palfrey forcing himself away from reflection on Karl’s true worth to study the layout of the place and wonder where Ridzer and Machez were housed. As they