"Maybe so. There were plenty of good German
There's an open market, and men buy and sell, and nobody knows whom he's buying from or
selling to. The point is, I have ties with the Robin family, and it makes it awkward for me."
"They ought to get out of the country, Lanny. Let them go to America, if you like them and
can get along with them."
"Exactly! That is what I've been urging them to do, and they wanted to do it. But
unfortunately Johannes has disappeared."
"Disappeared? How do you mean?"
"He was about to go on board his yacht in Bremerhaven when some Brownshirts seized him
and carried him off, and nobody has any idea where he is."
"But that's absurd, Lanny."
"I'm sure it doesn't seem absurd to my old friend."
"What has he been doing? He must have broken some law."
"I have no idea and I doubt very much if he has."
"How do you know about it, Lanny?"
"I telephoned to the yacht and a strange voice answered. The man said he was a
"That's a part of Dr. Ley's new Labor Front. What's he got to do with a Jewish
"You may do me a great favor if you'll find out for me, Heinrich."
"Well, you know what happens in revolutions. People take things into their own hands, and
regrettable incidents occur. The Führer can't know everything that's going on."
"I'm quite sure of it," said Lanny. "The moment I heard about it, I said: "I know exactly
where to go. Heinrich Jung is the person who will understand and help me. So here I am!"
VII
The young Nazi executive wasn't a fool, not even with the Rheinwein and the champagne and
the brandy. He perceived at once why he had been receiving all this hospitality. But then, he
had known Lanny Budd for some twelve years, and had had other meals at his expense and no
favors asked. It is injurious to one's vanity to have to suspect old friends, and Heinrich had a
naturally confiding disposition. So he asked: "What do you want me to do?"
"First, I want you to understand my position in this unhappy matter. I have many friends in
Germany, and I don't want to hurt them; but at the same time I can't let a member of my
family rot in a concentration camp without at least trying to find out what he's accused of. Can I,
Heinrich?"
"No, I suppose not," the other admitted, reluctantly.
"So far, there hasn't been any publicity that I have seen. Of course something may break loose
abroad; Johannes has friends and business associates there, and when they don't hear from
him they, too, may get busy on the telephone. If that happens, it will make a scandal, and I think
I'm doing a favor to you and to Kurt and to Seine Hochgeboren and even to the Führer, when I
come and let you know the situation. The first person I meet in Berlin is likely to ask me:
'Where is Johannes?' And what am I to say? Since he is my sister's father-in-law and my
father's associate, I'd be bound to call at his home, or at least telephone and let him know of my
arrival."
"It's certainly awkward," conceded Heinrich.
"Another thing: when Seine Hochgeboren gets my letter in the morning he may call up. He's a
friend of Johannes—in fact, it was at Johannes's palace that I first met him. Also, Irma expects
to meet the Fürstin Bismarck tomorrow—perhaps you know her, a very charming Swedish lady.
What is she going to say about the matter?"
Heinrich admitted that it was
happened, I am in the position of having come here to attack the
thing I want to do. But the story can't be kept down indefinitely, and it's going to make a
frightful stink. So I said to Irma: 'Let's get to Heinrich quickly, and have the thing stopped
before it gets started.' Johannes is absolutely a non-political person, and he has no interest in
spreading scandals. I'm sure he'll gladly agree to shut up and forget that it happened."
"But the man must have done something, Lanny! They don't just grab people in Germany
and drag them to jail for nothing."
"Not even Jews, Heinrich?"
"Not even Jews. You saw how orderly the boycott was. Or did the foreign press lie to you
about it?"
"I have heard terrible stories; but I have refused to believe them and I don't want to have to. I
want to be able to go out and tell my friends that as soon as I reported this case to the Nazi
authorities, the trouble was corrected. I offer you a chance to distinguish yourself, Heinrich,
because your superiors will be grateful to you for helping to avoid a scandal in the outside
world."
VIII
This conversation was being carried on in German, because Heinrich's English was
inadequate. Irma's German was even poorer, but she had the advantage of having been told
Lanny's plan of campaign, and she could follow its progress on the young official's face. A well-
chiseled Nordic face, with two sky-blue eyes looking earnestly out, and a crown of straw-
