Lieutenant Rupert weighed in, backing Cole up. “I agree with Private Cole,” he said. “Better safe than sorry. For all we know, these woods could be crawling with Germans.”
The truth was that Cole felt uneasy in these surroundings. It wasn’t the empty old château that put him on edge, but the trappings of wealth. Although the château had seen better days and had an air of abandonment, everything from the soaring ceilings to the antique carved-wood furniture hinted at an opulence that was completely foreign to the likes of someone like Cole.
Vaccaro took pots from the kitchen and used them to heat up their rations, plus brew a pot of hot coffee. They were so tired that the coffee wouldn’t keep anyone awake, but it would warm their bones.
As the food was dished out, Bauer lifted his still-bound hands toward Cole and raised his eyebrows.
“All right, but don’t even think about trying anything,” Cole said. He unsheathed his bowie knife and cut the cords binding Bauer’s wrists. The German sighed with relief and massaged his wrists, into which the tight cords had cut a pattern of red lines.
“Thank you,” he said.
Cole grunted as Vaccaro handed their prisoner a plate and a chipped mug of black coffee.
Bauer seemed right at home in this château. It was a realization that rankled Cole. He sat down near the German to keep an eye on him.
“I suppose you’ll want us to put out a tablecloth for you and maybe a silver spoon,” Cole said.
Bauer had tucked into the food with surprising vigor, showing how hungry he was. He took a long drink of coffee. “Mmm, American coffee. Not bad.” Once he had eaten his fill, he returned his attention to Cole. “You seem to have the wrong impression of me, Private Cole. I do know about manor houses, but not because I lived in one.
“You see, my father’s lungs were damaged by mustard gas during the Great War. The only work he could get was on the estate of an old baron whose son had been my father’s commanding officer. His son did not survive the war, but the baron had a soft spot for army men that had served with his son. He created jobs for three men who had been injured in the war, doing what he could for them, though by then he could scarcely afford it with the inflation that Germany went through. I suppose he saw it as his duty. Our economy was ruined by the war. Even the rich suffered.
“My mother worked in his kitchen. When I was old enough, I helped my father or ran small errands for the baron. So you see, that is how I know about châteaus, from being the hired help.”
“I didn’t think that errand boys could become German officers,” Cole replied.
Bauer smiled ruefully. “The Nazi Party promotes the equality of all good Germans, so that was a path upward, at least to a point. But they say that even Hitler gets stars in his eyes when he’s around the old aristocracy.”
“Too bad for you that you ain’t the baron’s kin.”
“It just so happens that I was able to pass myself off as upper class due to a misunderstanding. There was some confusion about my connection with the baron. When people began introducing me as the baron’s nephew, I did not correct them. That was enough to get me in the door, you see.”
“You lied.”
“Does a man ever lie about how much money he has to get a woman into bed? Does a fisherman use a lure to catch a fish? You might understand how an ambitious young man would not correct the mistaken assumption that he comes from the aristocracy to hide the fact that he was nothing more than an errand boy.”
“If you say so.” Cole understood what the German was saying about the fact that we might not always tell the truth, at least not exactly, when it was to our advantage, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
“Everyone in Germany lies. It is how we have reached this point. We lie about where all the Jews have gone. We tell ourselves lies that we can still win the war. Der Führer is the biggest liar of them all.”
“What about the Jews?” Cole asked with genuine curiosity. There were plenty of dark rumors about the fate of Europe’s Jewish population. However, at this point in the war, the full extent of Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution” still wasn’t known.
Bauer just shook his head without answering Cole’s question. “What I am saying is that there have been too many lies already.”
“All right, now we’re getting somewhere. You’re finally telling the truth. How will I know that you’re not lying to me in the future?”
Bauer sighed. “You won’t, at least not if it means — how do you Americans say it? —
“Fair enough. Now answer me another question, Herr Barnstormer. Why did you surrender?”
“I was trying to save my men. The war is coming to an end. They have done enough.” Bauer hesitated before adding, “Also, I surrendered because I am tired of the pointless loss of life. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Loss of life, huh? What about those American boys you murdered?”
