Evening star., 1941-08-08

course he wanted to cross. They all
want to cross and they all lie"
The adjutant, a very trusting fel-
low, wanted to believe me. The in
terpreter said, 1T would be better
for you to tell the truth. Admit that
you wanted to cross and maybe you'll
be let off with fine" Out of pride
of authorship, 1 stuck to my feeble
lie.
Then a mistake was made-and
not this time by me. The sergeant,
who had not followed the conversa-
ton in French, apparently interpre-
ted the adjutant's good humor as
proof that everything was all right
and showed my effects across the
table to me. I picked up my note
book and slipped it casually into
my overcoat pocket.
At Interpreters Mercy.
At that moment the Alsatian in
terpreter began to make ugly noises.
He was reading the typewriter re-
port given to me by my friend in
Paris. Very interesting, this docu-
ment," he said, and I heard him add
In German to the adjutant, "A
Gaulliste tract" (You can get two
to ten years in occupied France for
having Gaulliste propaganda on
your personD
l said that 1t was not a "Gaullist
tract and was very indignant. The
adJutant told me later that he
wanted to believe me. Seeing his
smile reappear. I thought to play
him against the interpreter. This
was mistake. My German was so
bad that I was completely at the
interpreter mercy.
Destroyed Half Of Notes.
I was sent outside to await q
decision. Along one of the galleries
walked a guard with rifle. When
he had his back turned I stopped
and dropped half of the contents of
my loose-leaf notebook through a
manhole covered by an iron grill
with narrow Sits. The other half
was about to follow when I heard
a great outburst of angry voices
and a clatter of boots.
Where is hep" They were all
coming my way, adjutant, guards,
interpreter in the van.
What We want to know" he
roared, is how you got into the oc-
cupied zone"
With an American passport"
This made him wild You are
trying to make out a fool! Where
is your passport?"
Il lost it." That was true and I
had a letter from the United States
Embassy in Vichy identifying me
and saying I had lost my passport.
Whatever hopes there had been
that they would accept my story and
the implication that I was there
legally vanished, but, with half my
notes down a manhole and the other
half In my pocket, wasn't too de-
pressed.
They all stomped of. I'VE will
find out about you," the interpreter
called back to me.
Prepared New Notes.
I was taken to a cell and there
tore what was left of my notes into
tiny pieces, dropping them into an
open toilet which had no flush ar
rangement. That evening I got
French trusty to bring me a bucket
of water, which I dumped into it.
1 spent busy afternoon. There
was a sheaf of loose-leaf paper left
in my notebook. With it I prepared
a new set of notes. For was sure
that the disappearance of my note
book would be discovered and re-
sented. My new notes were inter-
esting but not very timely. They re-
vealed a mind more interested in
art and philosophy than in German
pillage, graft and like shoddiness.
They were, in fact, f1attering for the
Germans, these new notes, though
not too f1attering.
My hunch proved right. Late in
the evening there was a great clat-
ter of boots in the corridor. I had
just finished copying into my note
book some long passages from a
German propaganda booklet which
had been left on me. The key
turned in the lock and in came the
same mob, led by the same inter-
prefer.
Where is it?" he asked, very ex-
cited.
Where is what?"
"The notebook you pinched OF
the desk"
I said I didn't pinch 1t; 1t had
been handed me.
This was true but they all shouted.
naturally, that was a liar and
other things. I then thought it wise
to let them And the notebook. As
suming what I hoped was . crafty
lock, ! said I didn't know where 1t