Evening star., 1941-08-11
French and Germans Join in Third Degree
In Effort to Link American With Comintern

american witt
or that the democracies had begun
it. The Herr Kriegsrat laughed
wryly at this.
All right, we won't make you say
what you didn't say, but you will
admit that it was they who declared
emphasis on 'declared) war, won't
you?"
I could only agree to this lawyers
view of history.
The party was over. The Herr
Kriegsrat thought I ought to see
the colonel in command. DR.. Walter
Schlunk dhe young lieutenant who
escorted me to the Kriegsrat)
thought it was important. too. My
hopes rose. But when they tele-
phoned they were told that the
colonel was off hunting for the day.
The two of them exchanged looks.
The Kriegsrat said, Your papers
will have tc go to Dijon. I had
thought that perhaps the colonel
would dispense with that but "
At the door he said, You will have
TO wait a few more days" I did not
ask how many days directly, but
requested that I be allowed to have
table in my cell to do some writ
ing. The Kriegsrat wrote out an
order and my heart sank.
was to learn later from some
one in a position to know that he
believed my story-it was true In
all major details-but that he con-
sidered, first, that I had braved
German authority and should not
be allowed to get of lightly; second,
that I should be held long enough
to spoil my story chow wrong he
was) and that he planned to- SEN
tence me to three months, which
was the maximum without a for
! NAL trial. But there were devel-
opments.
Amerikaner Becomes a Fixture.
The Kriegsrat's several days" ran
into weeks. The chestnut tree out
side our prison courtyard, naked
when I arrived, was now leafed in
tender green. The "Amerlkaner
became a fixture of Chalon Prison;
hundreds of others arrested after
him went on either to something
worse or to freedom.
On the night of April q a friendly
German officer stopped me, drew
me into a dark corner and said, L
am not supposed to tell you but
the French Surete Rationale has
obtained permission to call on you
tomorrow. Your case was prac-
tically settled. Now there is dread
full mess" I was startled.
He said he could tell me nothing
more but went on to say, Now,
If anybody were to accuse me of
having stolen something 1 would
say I didn't steal it and stand my
ground, whether I were guilty or
not" Mystified, I spent the night
pulling out the many drawers of
my conscience to look over what
had acquired in Vichy. There
was nothing that family resembled
theft.
Not until the next afternoon was
| the mystery cleared up. After
lunch a very pleasant young Ger
man lieutenant called for me and
we walked through town to the
headquarters Of the S. S. (Sicher-
heits DiensD in the old ofnces of
| the French Surete. 1t was sunny
day. The lieutenant, who spoke
French, told me he was from Besan-
con. I had been reading Stendahl's
lie Rogue ct LIE Noir," which is
partly set in Besancon. I sensed
the professor in my lieutenant and
so mentioned this.
Find Common Interest.
The lieutenant's reserve vanished
He shared my passion for Stendahl.
He got around to quoting the ter
rible lines from the next to the
last page where Julien Sorel goes
through the streets of Besancon
on his way to the guillontine," and
never was that poetic head more
beautiful than in the last hour be.
fore it fell from his shoulders $50
I remember it, Suddenly he
stopped and looked all embarrassed.
Trying to be funny, said, Good
Lord, is it as bad as that for me?"
"Of course not he said.
And it wasn't. But at the time
he apparently thought so. I made
some crack to the effect that the
Nazis only used the axe on the necks
of traitors. He became reserved all
over again. Nazis may be nice, but
they are rarely funny.
In the office of the s. S. we met
a strange creature, a blond, overly
handsome offlcer "A captain
think-wearing the deaths head OF
the Elite Guards in the peak of his
cap. He seemed in q state Of barely
suppressed hysteria, like so many
Nazis. His huge eyes bulged. My
| first thought was dope" The right
eye, I was soon to discover, swivelled
independently Of the other, which
may have been glass. He looked at
me with distrust.
Without an introduction of any
kind, he said: Don't you try to es-
cape! You are watched every min
ute" I was too startled to reply.
He paced up and down. muttering
I could not catch the eye of my
lieutenant, the Stendahl enthusiast
The blond said, These damned
French, always late and some
other things.
! French Detectives Arrive,
| At that moment there appeared
two gentlemen who could be identi-
ned at a hundred yards as detectives
There was small one with q bowler
hat. He carried q portable type
writer and IN umbrella. The other