Page 19 (1/2)

"Some vandal must have been at it," the mechanic told ine as if possessed by devils I had a difficult time with it, believe ine ran more s I could drive the little thing without having a breakdown It would only be safe as far as whatever border we crossed first, as you cannot get a car across a frontier without the proper papers But ould worry about that when the tiue

I picked up Kotacek, stowed his insulin and needle in one of the bridal couple’s suitcases, took the flashlight and revolver along with me, and loaded Kotacek into the back seat of the car He didn’t like that He wanted to ride in front withspotted if he sort of slouched in the back He didn’t like it any better, but he put up with it

Klaus wouldn’t accept any money He absolutely refused "The poor old fellow," he said "A convincing transference, yes? One would almost believe he is what he thinks hi him?"

I said I didn’t think so

"Then you do what you can to lad I could be of service The poor old gentleet out of here," ot out of there

The exit route I picked was fairly close to the one I had worked out in Pisek I drove alh Boheressively more pastoral, the towns s He wanted to stop in Slovakia, no doubt expecting to receive a hero’s welcome there I didn’t bother to tell him that there were blessed few Slovakian Nazis left in Slovakia Most of them had been fitted with ropes around their necks when the Russians liberated the country in 1945 A few, like Kotacek, had gotten out in time If he had announced hiiven a party for him They would have found a rope and done the job once and for all

"You et proper food here, good peasant food that sticks to your ribs And the people know"Later," I would say Or, "There’s a car following us I want to , just so he would shut up and let ured to cut south and cross into Hungary around Parkan, then cut across to Budapest Froed fro like 250 e much better than fifty-five miles an hour Kotacek cut our speed by almost a third He was the worst traveler I’ve everthe car so that he could urinate, because he had all the bladder control of a six-week-old puppy He complained constantly Time after time he made me stop to buy hio into an expensive restaurant and sit at a table and gorge himself; when I explained that this was plainly i his hunger whenever possible

And when he wasn’tabout the roughness of the road or the way I drove or the cra any of these chars, then he would talk Some of his babble was Nazi theory – what the Fourth Reich would do, its present strength, the countries where it was gaining ground, the new faces of the movement And the plans which would be eventually put into action First, obviously, the ultiinning Next would come the depopulation of Africa "Of course the world is crowded, Lieutenant Tanner" I had been severely de races have not done their duty in respect to weaker races The prih it took centuries before their decline rendered theainst the Bush out quite rapidly, as I understand it But no progress at all is being made in Africa On the contrary, the black races there becoer day by day But when the world is ours, ill show the world how to clean house They will be cleaned out, an area at a time As we level the forest, so shall we liquidate the blacks Can you visualize the potential of a white Africa? Can you iine it?"

All of this babble was fairly hard to s, but the rest orse I didn’t really s which I kneere not going to coot to lory as Minister of Internal Affairs during the war I didn’t want to hear about it, but that didn’t stop hihetto at Bratislav The way they screamed e sent them aboard the train But we did not let the sent A nice ride in the country, we told them A pleasant trip in the fresh air Fresh air! The trains went to Auschwitz First give theas! And then the crened these nificent cree Turn it to ashes and plow it into the ground So that it shall be as though it never existed"

It was too much I turned the wheel, eased the car off the road, braked to a stop I got a flashlight and turned to face hiht to sleep for a while"

"No! You cannot do it to me I will not look at it Major Tanner, you must be sensible And you must obey orders Put that toy away Do you hear me? I order you to put that toy away"

"It’s not a toy"

"Captain Tanner-"