o 3b3e7475144cf77c полностью

her departure. Hansi and Bess sat with him, and after the usual delays he heard a guttural voice

saying in German: "Dieselmotorjacht Bessie Budd."

"Wer spricht?" inquired Lanny.

"Pressmann."

"Wer ist Pressmann?"

"Reichsbetriebszellenabteilung Gruppenführerstelhertreter." The Germans carry such titles

proudly and say them rapidly.

"What are you doing on board the yacht?"

"Auskmift untersagt," replied the voice. Information forbidden!

"But the yacht was supposed to sail yesterday!"

"Auskunft untersagt."

"Aber, bitte—"

"Leider, nicbt erlaubt"—and that was all. "Sorry, not permitted!" The receiver clicked, and

Lanny, aghast, listened on a dead wire.

"My God!" he exclaimed. "Can the Nazis have seized the Bessie Budd?" Hansi went white and

Bess dug her nails into the palms of her hands. "Why would they do that!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know," answered Lanny, "unless one of them wanted a yacht."

"They have arrested Papa!" whispered Hansi. He looked as if he was about to keel over, and

Bess caught him by the shoulders. "Oh, Hansi! Poor Hansi!" It was characteristic that she

thought of him. He was the one who would suffer most!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had fallen from the sky and blasted their plans, turned their

pleasures into a nightmare of suffering. Utter ruin, doom without escape—that was the way it

appeared, and none could think of anything to say to comfort the others. More than thirty-six

hours had passed since the scheduled sailing, and was it conceivable that Johannes would

have delayed that length of time to get word to his friends? If any member of the family was at

liberty, would that person have failed to communicate?

Just one other possibility: they might have been "tipped off" and have made their escape.

They might be on their way out of Germany; or they might be hiding somewhere, not daring to

wire. In the latter case they would use the method which they had already resorted to, of an

unsigned letter. If such a letter was on the way it was to be expected in the morning.

"I'll try Berlin," said Lanny. Anything to break that dreadful spell of inaction! He put in a

call for the Robin palace, and when he got the connection, an unfamiliar voice answered.

Lanny asked if Johannes Robin was there, and the stranger tried to find out who was calling;

when Lanny gave his name, the other started to put him through a questioning as to his reasons

for calling. When Lanny insisted upon knowing to whom he was talking, the speaker abruptly

hung up. And that again could mean only one thing: the Nazis had seized the palace!

"I must go and help Papa!" exclaimed Hansi, and started up as if to run to the station right

away, or perhaps to the airplane field if there was one. Lanny and Bess caught him at the same

moment. "Sit down," commanded the brother-in-law, "and be sensible. There's not a thing

you can do in Germany but get yourself killed."

"I certainly must try, Lanny."

"You certainly must not! There's nobody they would better like to get hold of."

"I will go under another name."

"With false passports? You who have played on so many concert stages? Our enemies have

brains, Hansi, and we have to show that we have some, too."

"He is right," put in Bess. "Whatever is to be done, I'm the one to do it."

Lanny turned upon her. "They know you almost as well as Hansi, and they will be looking

for you."

"They won't dare do anything to an American."

"They've been doing it pretty freely. And besides, you're not an American, you're the wife of a

German citizen, and that makes you one." All four of the Robins had made themselves citizens

of the Weimar Republic, because they believed in it and planned to live their lives there. "So

that's out," declared Lanny. "You both have to give me your word of honor not to enter

Germany, and not to come anywhere near the border, where they might kidnap you. Then

Irma and I will go in and see what we can find out."

"Oh, will you do it, Lanny?" Hansi looked at his brother-in-law with the grateful eyes of a

dog.

"I promise for myself. I'm guessing that Irma will go along, but of course I'll have to ask her."

IX

Irma was in her room resting, and he went to her alone. He couldn't be sure how she

would take this appalling news, and he wanted to give her a chance to make up her mind

before it was revealed to anybody else. Irma was no reformer and no saint; she was a young

woman who had always had her own way and had taken it for granted that the world existed to

give it to her. Now fate was dealing her a nasty blow.

She sat staring at her husband in consternation; she really couldn't bring herself to realize

that such a thing could happen in this comfortable civilized world, created for her and her

kind. "Lanny, they can't do that!"

"They do what they see fit, dear."

"But it ruins our cruise! It leaves us stranded!"

"They probably have our friends in prison somewhere; and they may be beating and abusing

them."

"Lanny, how perfectly unspeakable!"