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I could still hear hi as the train pulled away

"Monsieur Fabre? I am sorry to have troubled you, sir Your passport-"

I nodded dumbly, took the little Frenchman’s passport from the police and my hands were slippery with sweat I did not trust myself to look at the man, much less speak to hi with you was a spy, an Ahed and eased hio away He offered arette I shook my head He lit one himself, inhaled deeply, blew out a cloud of bluish smoke

For several moments he was silent I leaned back in my seat, closed ain, he switched from Czech to German, an oddly accented German with reedy vowels and softened consonants

"I am no Czech," he said "I am from the Sudetenland You understand?"

I nodded

"By now they know their mistake They will call ahead to the next stop Tyn It is not scheduled, but they will stop the train there You et off before then You understand?"

"Yes"

"Go to Pisek There is a et to Prague Tell him Heinz Moll You understand?"

"I understand"

"You will help the old o now Wait to the count of twenty, then follow ot up from my seat, walked after hi on the trestle between the two cars

He said, "Kurt Neumann in Pisek You remember that?"

"I’ll remember"

"I cannot stop the train They would reineer I can pretend to see so on the track and he will slon to twenty kilometers an hour When the train slows you will jump You understand?"

"I understand"

"Good" He hesitated Then he straightened up sharply, and his right arether

"Heil Hitler!"

The words were sharp and clear over the roar of the train I brought up my own hand in the familiar salute, met his eyes with mine, echoed his words

"Heil Hitler!"

Chapter 2

When the telephone rang to begin it all, I was sitting at e report which Diane Bluedy The paper was one I’d originally written several years ago for an NYU student Since then it had made appearances at Barnard, Adelphi, and Fordha would add Hofstra to the list It was one of my favorites, built upon the thesis that Hamlet was intended by its author as a comedy, a sort of farcical satire upon the earlier Elizabethan tragedy-of-blood cliché The neurotically indecisive Hamlet, the accidental e is constantly thwarted by Hamlet’s own incompetence – these and other ele case forviewpoint A-, the instructor at NYU had written I’d dearly love to see the play perforiven the author of record an A Barnard and Fordha that the student didn’t seriouslyjesuitical disputation but giving grudging praise to the originality and logical organization of the argument

Because the paper involved no neork on h the typewriter, I was charging Diane Bluher; masters and doctoral theses cost up to a thousand dollars This is not terribly high, considering the time and effort I put into my work, but it is the sort of work I enjoy The income it provides, added to the 112 overnment pays me for my permanent insomnia, is sufficient unto my needs

"…of incest as a humorous component," I typed "Ophelia’s ht…" And the telephone rang

I answered it A young ested that I get in touch with you"

"Oh?"

"Could I come up and see you?"

"What about?"

"I’ I wanted to talk to you about"

"Go ahead"