The numerous members of the police force as well as storm troopers who were on guard in the courtyard of the Supreme Marshal’s residence were somewhat astonished when the main door of the building was thrown open soon after three in the morning and His Excellency stepped forth. He did not seem to be in a very pleasant mood, judging from the irate manner in which he summoned an officer.
‘Order a car to come round immediately,’ he snapped, when the young man ran up.
Commands could now be heard from all parts of the courtyard, and several detachments of men were marched to the front door, apparently to act as bodyguard. Their commanders must have felt a trifle indignant at the curt manner in which they were ordered away again, but it taught them that His Excellency had no wish for any formality, desired in fact to be alone. Thereafter the police and troops remained at a safe distance. He looked a morose figure as he stood at the top of the steps, the light shining down full upon him. His left hand was stuck in his jacket pocket. Once or twice he stamped his foot impatiently. A little over five minutes went by, then a large black saloon car glided up to the door. There was a man sitting by the side of the driver, another standing on the running board. The latter sprang down and opened the door.
‘I do not require an escort or a guard,’ snapped the false Marshal. ‘My orderly will accompany me, also a friend. You can go.’
The two additional men saluted and marched away. Sir Leonard glanced at the rear of the car and was somewhat mortified to find that it merely contained a luggage grid. He would have sent it away and ordered one with a proper box compartment only he did not know anything about the cars connected with the Marshal of State’s household, and was rather fearful of making a faux pas.
‘Ah!’ sighed a relieved voice in his ear. ‘I was afraid it might have a box, which would have made things a little awkward.’ Sir Leonard turned to find Cousins standing by his side. ‘Will you send up the driver to help carry out two trunks, sir? They are to be strapped on the back.’
The chief nodded. The trunks contained von Strom and his orderly, and he felt inclined to smile. The driver was given his instructions, and presently he and Reichmann emerged from the house carrying a long uniform case. This they carefully strapped to the back of the car.
‘His Excellency is in that,’ murmured Cousins, ‘the orderly is in the other. I am afraid he is rather uncomfortable. There is plenty of air, however, and we punctured several holes in each case. I thought of the notion when I came upon a box room during my peregrinations while looking for a bathroom.’
‘Good for you, Jerry,’ whispered Wallace. ‘It has certainly solved our greatest difficulty. No doubt the onlookers are wondering where His Excellency is going at this time of the morning with baggage, but it doesn’t matter whether they’re puzzled or not, so long as they don’t tumble to the truth.’
Cousins stood by his side while the second case, a shorter but broader trunk, was being strapped on. Gradually his face creased into one of those inimitable smiles which never failed to cause observers of them to smile also. It was as though the extraordinary wrinkles were each puckered in a grin of its own denoting relief from the disguise which had masked it for so long. As a matter of fact, Cousins was delighting in a unique experience. There they were, Sir Leonard and he, men whose names were anathema in official circles in Germany, standing on the steps of the Supreme Marshal’s residence, the one posing actually as His Excellency, the other, without disguise, basking under the protection of his colleague. To make the situation more entertaining, His Excellency himself, neatly packed in a trunk, was ignominiously strapped to the back of his own car where he would remain until Sir Leonard had rescued the women he had determined should die.
As soon as both boxes were securely fastened to the luggage grid, Sir Leonard stepped into the car, followed by Cousins. Reichmann closed the door, and sprang in by the side of the driver, giving him instructions to take them to the Wannsee Prison at Potsdam, first going by way of the Brandenburg Gate, and picking up a woman who would be waiting there. The car glided away and the rattle of rifles was heard from all sides as the men presented arms. Both Sir Leonard and Cousins gave vent to sighs expressive of their satisfaction and relief as they passed between the great main gates, which had been opened. The little man chuckled.
‘I wonder what they are all thinking,’ he observed, referring to the guard. ‘This must strike them as peculiar behaviour.’
‘No doubt,’ agreed Sir Leonard, ‘but what right have they to think or criticise?’
The car reached the Brandenburg Gate about half past three. Hanni was soon discovered. She had been waiting in a fever of impatience, dread, and hope, and it was a tremendous relief to her when a large black motor drew up within a few yards. Her mind had been too much worried at the time to notice particularly the car that had carried her from Potsdam. She had no idea, therefore, that this was not the same. When, however, a man descended from the front attired in the uniform of a Nazi storm trooper, she received rather a bad shock. Shrinking back as he approached her, she demanded in a quivering voice to know what he wanted. Reichmann was compelled to whisper for fear the driver might hear.
‘The Englishmen are in the car,’ he explained. ‘I am disguised like this because there is a very desperate and daring scheme on foot. You have nothing to fear, fraulein.’
Nevertheless, Hanni entered the car rather doubtfully. Her doubts were certainly not allayed when a light was switched on to enable her to find her seat. She gasped, and her eyes seemed as though they were about to dart from her head as they alighted on the man sitting comfortably in one of the corners opposite her.
‘Your Excellency!’ she exclaimed.
He bowed.
‘At your service, fraulein,’ he remarked, and the voice was that, in every particular, of the man she had grown to hate. By then the car was on its way again. There was no possibility, therefore, of Hanni being able to spring out, but she was convinced that somehow she had fallen into a trap. In consequence, from hope and eagerness, she was suddenly plunged into rank despair. The glimpse she had caught of the second man had done nothing to lesson her anxiety. He did not correspond in any way with either of those with whom she had travelled from Potsdam as far as she could tell. No interior light had been switched on at all in the first car but from time to time she had caught sight of her companions in the sudden glare caused by the headlights of a motor travelling in the opposite direction. She decided that the Englishmen had been trapped, that it had been discovered she was to meet them, and that all hope of the lives of the baroness and Dora Reinwald being saved was gone. The Supreme Marshal was probably on his way to see the execution and, having discovered the part she had been trying to play in the rescue of her mistress, had determined to take her along and force her to witness her death. It was the kind of horrible, vicious thing he would do. A great sob broke from her and suddenly she burst into a storm of violent weeping.
‘Do not upset yourself, fraulein,’ Cousins remarked gently, ‘all will be well.’
She recognised the voice, and again hope surged through her. She bent forward, found his hands and clasped them.
‘You are the Englishman!’ she cried.
‘One of them,’ returned Cousins.
‘Then it is not a trap? We go to help the baroness?’
‘Of course.’
‘But what of your companion – the man who planned everything? Where is he?’
‘Not very far from you,’ he returned.
There was a pause; then timidly she asked:
‘Why is His Excellency here? I do not understand.’
‘I go to order the release of the Baroness von Reudath and Fraulein Reinwald,’ Sir Leonard explained in his cleverly assumed voice, ‘and bring them away from the prison.’
Hanni gasped audibly. This was something beyond her.
Dawn was just beginning to break when the car reached the gates of the Wannsee Prison. Wallace gave a little sigh of satisfaction. They had arrived in plenty of time. The insistent sounding of the horn brought out a sergeant who, on finding that the Supreme Marshal himself had arrived, immediately gave orders for the gates to be opened, while word was sent to the governor. The car passed in between files of men standing at the salute. A cry of dismay broke involuntarily from Cousins’ lips as the significance of the scene in the courtyard occurred to his mind. Sir Leonard uttered an exclamation of anger. Curtly bidding Cousins and Hanni stay where they were, he sprang out while the vehicle was still moving.
Drawn up on all four sides of the square were men standing grimly at attention. Striding rapidly forward, Wallace broke through the ranks nearest to him. His eyes immediately fell on the scaffold erected in the centre, the block at which a female figure in white was kneeling, the executioner in his fantastic garb, the other female figure standing between two guards. He took little note of the three men and a woman hurrying towards him. Everything depended on his disguise, on his power of imitating von Strom’s voice now.
‘Stop!’ he thundered. ‘The execution is cancelled. Release that woman!’
Two men ran up the steps of the scaffold. The figure kneeling there was unstrapped, helped to her feet. Apparently too overcome to walk, she was carried down and placed on the ground. Sir Leonard raised his hand to his forehead, wiped away the beads of perspiration that had collected there. He then turned to confront the people who had hurried up to him. The supreme moment of his ordeal had arrived. The governor of the prison, Major Wilhelm, Colonel Schönewald and Marlene Heckler stood before him. Of them all he feared the woman most. She had seen through Cousins’ disguise, would she recognise that he was not von Strom? There was one great flaw in his otherwise perfect masquerade and, at that moment, he was deeply conscious of it. His and the Supreme Marshal’s eyes were of a different colour. He did not think the men would notice, but Marlene Heckler very possibly might. Luckily the light was still too dim for any of them to be able to see clearly. Deliberately he turned away from the woman, directly facing the governor. He looked in a fiendish rage. None of the four standing anxiously before him ever remembered to have seen His Excellency look more angry.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ he thundered harshly. ‘Why were you proceeding with the execution before sunrise?’
The governor, a very frightened man, stared at him, and seemed, for the moment, to be unable to speak.
‘It – it was your own order, Your Excellency,’ he faltered at length. ‘You sent Major Wilhelm and Fraulein Heckler with the written command that the executions were to be advanced to dawn.’
That was an unexpected contretemps. Sir Leonard was taken aback but showed not the slightest sign of surprise or hesitation.
‘Did you not receive my second message?’ he demanded in tones as angry as before.
‘No, Your Excellency,’ the other assured him earnestly. ‘No other message has arrived.’
‘Bah!’ snarled the sham Marshal. ‘What nonsense is this? Do you mean to tell me that an order of mine has not been obeyed? I gave instructions that the executions were to be postponed, and that I myself was coming here. God in heaven! Am I served by a parcel of fools or traitors or what?’
The governor pathetically strove to convince him that no message had been received. In this he was supported by Major Wilhelm and Fraulein Heckler, who had been with him most of the night. Sir Leonard gathered that von Strom had sent Wilhelm and Marlene with the order that the executions were to be advanced to dawn, and that they were to stay themselves, see them carried out, and at once carry the intelligence to him. Wallace did not know what Schönewald was doing there and, of course, could not ask. He noticed that the young Nazi’s face was pale and drawn. It was obvious that he had been assisting in an event that was utterly hateful to him. The pretender waved them all aside, and strode forward to the scaffold. The Baroness von Reudath, who had been the one chosen to suffer first, and whom he had been just in time to save, sat now on a chair that had been procured for her. She appeared dazed, her face was as white as a sheet, but she looked up at him bravely. Dora Reinwald, still standing between her guards, was as pale, but her face was as serene as ever, her great eyes full of defiance.
‘Has the great Marshal of State actually relented?’ she asked mockingly. ‘Are we really to be left with our heads?’
‘You are, fraulein,’ he rejoined, and turned to the baroness. ‘Later on I will endeavour to express my sorrow for the ordeal you have been forced to undergo. At present it is my desire to take you from here as soon as possible. Do you think you are fit enough to travel?’
The wondering, amazed relief that now shone in the eyes of both brought a lump to Sir Leonard’s throat. He turned to a guard, and bade him fetch the woman Hanni.
‘I am quite all right,’ Sophie assured him. ‘I am only anxious to leave this horrible place as soon as possible.’
Hanni arrived and, throwing herself on her feet before her mistress, clasped her in her arms, laughing and crying at the same time as she strove to express her happiness. At the order of Sir Leonard the two ladies, who had so barely escaped a terrible fate, were escorted to the car, which they entered. Cousins continued to keep well in the background, but immediately assisted Hanni in administering to them, refusing to answer the questions which Dora asked him. Sophie was still too dazed to bother about anything but the wonderful fact that she had miraculously escaped a hideous death.
Sir Leonard was eager to be away, but did not wish to show undue haste for fear that doubt might even now be roused. He noticed that Marlene Heckler seemed to be showing a great anxiety to address him, but adroitly managed to avoid her. He still retained his pretence of anger, which caused the men to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. Fraulein Heckler at length succeeded in forcing herself on his attention. He looked at her through narrowed eyes; then turned abruptly; began to pace to and fro.
‘What do you want?’ he demanded, as she kept step by his side.
Her first words proved to him that she was on more confidential terms with von Strom than he had suspected.
‘Why have you done this, Excellency?’ she asked. ‘When I persuaded you to give orders for the two to be executed at an earlier hour than sunrise for fear that that little Englishman was organising an attempt at rescue, you agreed with great alacrity. You seemed then anxious that the baroness and her companion should die as soon as possible. What has made you alter your mind? Are you indeed setting them free or have you another scheme in your mind?’
‘What right have you to question me regarding my intentions?’ he demanded harshly. ‘You go too far, Fraulein Heckler.’
‘But,’ she cried in dismay, ‘you have never objected before. Have I not always served you well and faithfully?’
‘You have. That, however, does not give you the right to be impertinent. I have changed my mind regarding the Baroness von Reudath, and that is the end of it.’
She was silent for some seconds, and he noticed from the corner of his eyes that she continually cast concerned and puzzled glances at him.
‘Has the little Englishman been caught yet?’ she asked at last.
The supposed von Strom laughed stridently.
‘You were very sure that he was an Englishman, were you not?’ he asked.
‘Very sure!’ she retorted confidently. ‘I have seen Herr Cousins so many times. Nevertheless, I should not have recognised him – his disguise was so excellent – if I had not been able to lip read. When he sat at the Cafe at Potsdam after I had followed him there, and studied him through the curtain, I saw his lips move. He was whispering poetry to himself and in English. I happen to know that Herr Cousins has a proclivity for quotations and poetry.’
‘That is a poor sort of proof of his identity,’ commented the pseudo-Marshal sarcastically. Nevertheless, he felt an added respect for the girl by his side. ‘However,’ went on Sir Leonard, ‘you happen to have been right in your surmise. The man is Herr Cousins.’
‘He has then been found and arrested?’ she asked eagerly.
‘Arrested!’ he snarled. ‘It seems more as if I were the one under arrest. The man Cousins has come with me to Potsdam. He is in my car as my guest. What do you think of that, Fraulein Heckler?’
For some moments she appeared stupefied with amazement.
‘In your car! Your guest!’ she repeated presently. ‘Do you mean, Excellency, that he it is who has forced you to release the baroness and the other woman? He has discovered something of your great plans and—’
‘Now you have learnt what you want to know,’ he snapped, ‘perhaps you are happy and will leave me in peace.’
‘But is there nothing to be done. Surely—’
‘Leave me, Fraulein Heckler. Perhaps it would be as well if you paid your respects to Herr Cousins. I understand he is quite anxious to meet you. He knew you had seen through his disguise and was apparently quite amused at your efforts to trail him, or have him trailed.’
She bit her lip, and frowned angrily.
‘I should like to shoot him with my own hand,’ she cried.
‘Do not try, I beg of you. It might prove too expensive for Germany.’
She walked away. The governor of the prison found courage at last to address him.
‘You will sign an order for the release of the two ladies, Excellency?’ he asked.
That was a poser. His handwriting would immediately betray him, but Sir Leonard was not at a loss. He waved his hand casually.
‘That will be sent from the Reichstag in the course of the morning. In the meantime you can have the scaffold dismantled. The Baroness von Reudath and her companion will not be executed.’
Sir Leonard walked to the car. Marlene Heckler had preceded him, and was engaged in talking in biting fashion to Cousins. She was extremely annoyed that her discovery of his identity had ended in a manner so tame. The little secret agent was amused. Again and again his face puckered into its scores of happy creases. He was quite certain that he had never been in a more ironically funny position in his career before, and was enjoying every moment of it. Marlene turned away from him, and came face-to-face with Sir Leonard. He was looking up at Colonel Schönewald, who stood by at the moment, and the strengthening light was full on his face. She gasped, stepped suddenly back to be brought up by the car.
‘Grey eyes!’ she muttered, a look of extreme astonishment on her face. ‘They should be—’ A great cry broke from her. ‘You are not—’
She was interrupted by the unmistakable feel of a revolver barrel stuck forcibly in her back.
‘Not another word,’ hissed the voice of Cousins behind her, ‘otherwise this will kill you before you can utter the foolish remark that was on your lips. Kindly run and enter the car.’
Fraulein Heckler was a wise woman. She also probably thought that it was quite impossible for the man she had discovered to be an impostor to get away from Germany and take with him the people he had rescued. She, therefore, entered the car. There were already four people in the tonneau, but Cousins told Hanni to get out, and forced Marlene to sit by his side, taking care to remind her every now and again by the feel of the revolver that it would be injudicious on her part to contemplate giving the alarm. Colonel Schönewald was the only person near enough to have heard or witnessed what had occurred. Sir Leonard looked at him to find that a puzzled expression on his face, caused by Marlene Heckler’s cry, was now giving way to one of understanding. He resolved on a gamble.
‘I believe you have guessed the situation, Colonel Schönewald,’ he remarked in a low voice.
‘I believe I have – up to a point,’ came the reply in tones as moderate.
‘I also believe that you would rather almost anything happen than that those two innocent ladies were brutally executed. Now I am holding in my pocket an automatic. I am an excellent shot and it would be easy enough to kill you. I do not wish to do that, and candidly I do not think it would be of much use if I did. Can I ask you to give your word to say nothing in order that the two ladies may escape the fate to which they have been sentenced.’
‘The reasons you have advanced are hardly adequate enough,’ murmured Schönewald, ‘to cause a German officer to forget his duty. Are there no others?’
Sir Leonard nodded at the two cases strapped to the back of the car.
‘I have a trunk full of reasons there,’ he declared dryly, ‘If anything happened to the contents, Germany would suffer a severe loss.’
Schönewald’s eyes stared in fascinated fashion at the box indicated.
‘Do you mean to say—’ he began.
‘I do,’ interrupted Sir Leonard, ‘and I shall not hesitate to act if you do not give me the promise I require. I do not intend to allow myself to be baulked now.’
Schönewald clicked his heels together and gave the stiff little bow of the Prussian officer.
‘My car is here, Your Excellency,’ he declared. ‘Yours is rather crowded. I will esteem it an honour if I may be allowed to offer you accommodation in mine. You have my word that I will say nothing.’
Sir Leonard smiled.