The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-06-11
sTEPHAN EXPLAINS
CHAPTER TX

"Tts strange. stephan" Deborah said, ~hut think I have always known 1t would be like this"
 like tlais3 Deborah, dar- Nlng, don't tremble sol You mean that we should love each other like thls2"
 ''NOt that alone That l should love you, and that I should always have to be afraid for you. Perhaps 1t was because of the war, and knowing you were Q Ger man"
 s'Hut that's one of the things I have to tell you. I'm not really German - that Is, my father was; but my mother was from Bohemia, and I was born at her home after my father was killed in the last war"
 "Eut you let us think"
 .'It was expedient, ct the time. And was partly educated in Ger many. I even served a while in the German army"
 But if you were Q German ot- aacer, l can't understand their let ting you out of the country at this time"
 Its c long story. I had crashed in c ski jump, and was in a private hospital in the Swiss Alps when the Nagis went into Czechoslovakia -, You may imagine how much l loved NSARnaanv aftar MuniHh A sympathetic Swiss doctor kept send ing reports to headquarters which convinced them that I was still in Che hospital - perhaps permanently disabled. He is dead: SO telling this can't hurt him now In Che meantime" - Stephan smiled M little grimly - T found work to do elsewhere"
 "But how did you get over here?"
 suddenly my superiors wrote, suggesting that if were able to travel, they would arrange for me to spend some time here as 6 stu dent. They wanted confidential reports on . German agent here. 1t suited my own plans so mirac- ulousiy that was never quite sure it wasn't @ trap"
 T think" Deborah said slowly, "that I'm beginning to understand Q little Stephan, what were you doing on the platform of that Bund meeting In San Francisco?"
 T hadn't counted on your 200 per cent Americans turning up to break up the meeting. And there was someone there wanted to keep an eye on How did you know9"
 "Angie saw the newsreel of the riot" tG...
 stephan shouted with laughter.
 "Does she miss anything?" he demanded. "T'here was one hid eous moment this evening when I wasn't at all sure she hadn't com- pletely found me out. Believe 1t or not, drew Q deep breath at being taken for only one more very melodramatic German spy out of Q moving picture"
 Deborah's nails bit into her palms So that was 1t! Words blayed like illuminated signs on the curtain of her memory.
 T have an idea" Angle had said, "that - when you get back -- MT. Poltergeist, or some other poor devil in the circulation de- partment over there, Is going to find himself In concentration camp-or worse"
 And Stephan had answered, But after all, he took that risk, did he not7 He must have guessed what he was In for"
 "Oh, Stephan, my darling" she breathed between tears and laugh ter, T should have guessed at once from your face while Angie was talking-your funny, blandly inno- cent 'dead-pot' facel So that's what you're going back to = with all the secret police of the Reich looking for Der Poltergeist'2"
 sweet heart. don't look like that, pleasel Miss Silva to the contrary, I give you my word have never pinched a policeman in my life nor thumbed my nose at one-and you've no idea how fast can run when someone's after me"
 Seeing her white face and quiv- ering lips, he took her hands and held them against his cheeks.
 Besides. I was only one among many. Since they've got the idea, the rest have been carrying on very nicely without me-"
 "Then why must you--?"
 0aanaase my husinesS on this