"Tomorrow." "Who are you?" "By what right do you keep my passport?" "Never mind who I am." "We're making sure who you are." "Call the American Embassy." "Ask for Leslie Slote, the political secretary." "That shouldn't take that long." "Thank God you're back!" "What happened?" "They confiscated my passport until tomorrow." "Let's get out of here." " Who confiscated your passport?" " Those army officers." " He hasn't the right." " He's got the guns." "What are you gonna do without it?" "I'll say I lost it in a bombardment or something." "That's a terrible risk." "Well, that's a bad bunch back there." "Ask Berel." "Oh, yeah, bad Polacks." "I came in too high." "A carrier deck is a damn small piece of real estate to land on, Warren." "Remember that." "Otherwise, you did all right." "Do you think we should cancel the officers' dance tonight?" "Because of Poland?" "What's it to us?" "I bet your old man's having a hot time in Berlin right about now." "My father seldom has a "hot time"." "Lieutenant Henry, you got a call from Washington." "It's your father." "You can reach him at this number." "Yep, Warren, they yanked me right back here." "Just for a few days, staying at the Army and Navy Club." "Mom's in Berlin." "I'll be returning there." "Everything's just fine." "How you making out as a flyboy?" "Well, I'm improving." "You know, Dad, it's really great to talk to you." "Where the devil is Madeline?" "There's no answer at Aunt Augusta's." "Madeline..." "Madeline's in New York, Dad." "New York?" "Doing what?" "Well, she's working at CBS." "Hang on a minute, Warren." "Russ Carton." "Hey, long time, no see." "Hello, Pug." " Why aren't you in uniform?" " Uniform?" "Well, what did the State Department tell you?" "Check in Army and Navy and wait." "Oh, snafu, as usual." "You're due to see the president in 20 minutes." "My car's downstairs." "Come on in." "I'm on the phone." "Warren, I'll have to call you back." "Right." "Byron Henry and Natalie Jastrow to see Mr. Slote." "You'll see Araleh in Italy, huh?" "Araleh?" "Dr. Aaron Jastrow." "We call him "Araleh"." "Sure." "Of course we will." "Will you please tell him Berel say "Lekh Lekha"?" "Two simple words in Hebrew." "Lekh Lekha." "Remember." "Lekh Lekha." "That means "get out"." "Yes, "go out"." "I must go now." "I have to go to find my wife and daughter." "God watch you." " Be careful." " Bye." "My God, am I glad to see you two!" "Come on in here." "It's all right." "Let them in." "Come on in." " Hello, Jastrow." " Hello." "Without your passport?" "You're lucky you weren't picked up and shot." "Shot at again, you mean." "I'll cable your father via Stockholm." "He'll let Aaron know that Natalie's all right." "Oh, I'm dying for a bath." "Use my apartment." "I've moved in here." "The senior personnel left for Stockholm." " I got elected to remain in charge." " Can I take Byron with me?" "My mother might object." "For crying out loud, Byron, with all the running in and out of bushes we've been doing together." "He's like a kid brother, sort of." "Don't you believe it." "I'm really a hot-blooded beast." "Maybe I can find a YMCA." "Suit yourselves." "How do we get out of Poland, Les?" "Who knows?" "Radio Stockholm has announced the Wehrmacht will surround the city within a week." "Hitler's announced if the Poles don't surrender then, Warsaw'll be leveled." "Fortunately, the Swedish ambassador is negotiating a safe-conduct out for all the neutrals, through German lines." "That's how we'll get out." "I hope." "I can't understand it, Russ." "What could he want with me?" "You'll find out soon enough." " You know he chewed me out once?" " The president?" "He was assistant secretary of the Navy then." "I was an ensign." "He was sailing to Europe aboard my destroyer, summer of 1918." "I was hosing myself down after a workout." "He came bounding out." "A very athletic man." "Very snappy dresser." "Well, I drenched his brand-new outfit from head to toe." "It wasn't funny." "Well, he's had a lot on his mind since 1918." "Here we are." "Commander Henry to see the president." "He's expecting you." "I'll tell him you're here." "Hello there, commander." "Glad to see you." "Drop your bonnet on the desk." "Have a chair." "Oh, by the way, this is the secretary of commerce, Harry Hopkins." "Sir." " How about some breakfast?" " No, thank you, sir." "I've already eaten." "Well, Pug." "Have you learned yet how to hold on to a saltwater hose at sea?" "Oh, God, sir." "I've heard about your memory, but..." "Harry, this young fellow ruined the best blue serge blazer and straw hat I ever owned." "Now that I'm commander in chief, what have you got to say for yourself?" ""The quality of mercy is mightiest in the mightiest."" "Oh, very good." "Quick thinking." "I'm a Shakespeare lover myself." "You're forgiven." "About your report to Admiral Preble on the low combat readiness of Germany." "You wrote it before the Germans launched this new form of warfare, of course." "This blitzkrieg, as the press is calling it." "You couldn't foresee that, could you?" "I stand by my report, sir." "Then how is it they're blitzing Poland so easily?" "A country with two and a half million men under arms?" "Surprise, concentration of force, better political leadership, better leadership in the field, better training, a sound war plan." "Plus, a lot of interior rot and confusion behind the Polish lines." "Well-put." "Also..." "Go on." "The British and French are sitting on their duffs through the greatest strategic opportunity ever." "You can't win the game without getting on the field." " I'm stepping way out of line..." " You're not." "You suppose he'll offer peace when he finishes with Poland" " if he's all that unprepared?" " Why not?" "It might just work." "You don't know the British." "How well do you know the Germans?" "Well, they're a hard people to know." "There's only one thing we have to know about the Germans." " What's that?" " How to lick them." "A warmonger, eh?" " Are you suggesting we get into it?" " Negative, sir, in the strongest way." "Unless we have to." "Oh, we'll have to." "How did you foresee that he'd make a pact with Stalin?" "People here were stupefied." "Mathematical." "Somebody had to make a wild guess." " It just happened to be me." " No, that was an astute report." "We had advance intelligence here." "It just wasn't believed." "That's usually the catch with intelligence." "What's Hitler really like?" "Have you met him?" "Only to shake hands." "Well, Pug, thanks." "You know, I liked that report." "Touches like the submarine base emptying out at 5:00." "That spoke volumes." "Gave me a feel about what was going on over there." "That's important." "You have a knack." "How about dropping me a line now and then?" "Just anything that strikes you as significant or interesting." "But not through channels, mind." "I get enough official reports, Lord knows." "Aye, sir." "Goodbye, commander." "Sir." "Mr. President." "Russ." "Well, do I go straight back to Berlin, or what?" " Unless you've got business here." " I do." "The point of this meeting, for which I crossed the Atlantic, is that I'm to send him some Berlin chitchat direct, as the spirit moves me." "Bypassing the chain of command, if I understood him." "You understood him." " Slightly nonregulation." " He's the boss man." "Commander Henry?" "State sent that over for you." "I must bathe or I'll go mad." "I can't stand myself anymore." "Slote's rooms all smell like an old library." "Let's get cleaned up." "Then you'd better find a hospital and get your head examined." "Come here." "You sweet fool, risking your neck to protect some dopey Jews." "Hadn't you better put another bandage on?" "It's gonna be OK." "My God, how young you are." "I keep forgetting." "I flunked out of graduate school." "Isn't that mature enough for you?" "Leave, please." "My God, what now?" " You think they're coming this way?" " I don't know." "Let's just stay inside here and relax." "It'll probably be over in a minute." " You want a cigarette?" " No, thank you." "It's like a summer storm coming towards us." "I never pictured it like this." "Don't you think we'd better go to the cellar?" "No, stay right here." "We're better off." "Just take it easy." "It's gonna be over soon." "It's OK." "They're going away." "I told you it'd be all right." "Those German bastards." "My God, Byron, look." "Can't we help?" "Can't we do something?" "They probably got volunteer squads." "Nursing, cleanup, like that." "I'll check it out." "I can't watch it anymore." "I'm sorry I got you into this, Byron." "Don't worry." "I'm having a good time." "This is fun." "Fun?" "!" "There must be hundreds of people dead or dying from this raid." " Did you see the kids they pulled out?" " Yeah, I saw them." "Look, all I meant was..." "I don't think I'm gonna be killed, and this is the most exciting time in my life." "How stupid and callous can you be?" "Slote thinks that I'm screwy, but you are really peculiar." "I'm gonna meet ya 'round The corner 'bout a quarter past four" "She's gonna meet me 'round The corner about a quarter past four" "You really like this tommyrot?" "Well, Dad, he's the biggest comedian in radio." "He makes 15,000 a week." "That's obscene right there." "That's more than a rear admiral makes in a year." "Well, millions of people love him." "Does nature need a gentle push?" "For that great regular feeling, try Feen-O-Lax, the gentle candy coaxer." "You fell out of the sky." "How'd you track me down?" "I called Warren in Pensacola." "Oh, how is he?" " He says he's got a girl." " Yeah?" "Now this one sounds serious." "She's the daughter of that isolationist congressman." "From Florida, Ike Lacouture." "You know what?" "I think Hugh should be taking a break about now." "I'm sorry you want her to go back to school." "The girl is 19." "She's better than women of 30 who've worked for me." "Reliable, energetic." "I wish she'd show some of these "4.0" qualities in school." "I loathe school." "Say, how about coming on our show as a guest, commander?" "I'm nobody." "Mr. Cleveland, 15 minutes." "You're the attaché in Berlin." "You could strike a blow for a two-ocean Navy, like Preble." "Not on your life." "Well, no harm in asking, I hope." "Well, it's been nice meeting you, commander." "And if you change your mind, we'd love to have you, sir." "Phil has the final script." "Energetic." "Is he married?" "He has a wife and three children." "When does school start?" "Oh, Dad, I'd be so miserable." "I feel like I've joined the Navy." "And I want to stay in." "What attracts you to this flimsy business?" "It's the furthest thing from your mother's interests or mine." "What about the time Mom spent that summer traveling in a musical show?" " Did she ever tell you about that?" " She was 17." "It was an escapade." "Was it?" "You know, a couple of years ago, in our old Nags Head house, when she and I were in the attic," "Mom came across the old parasol she used in her dance solo." "Right there in the attic she kicked off her shoes, she opened the parasol, she picked up her skirt and she did the whole dance for me." "And then she sang a song, "Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "Mom's a frustrated actress, that's what." ""Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "She did that dance for me too, Madeline." "Long, long ago." "Oh, Dad, please let me stay and work." "When I get to Berlin, I'll discuss it." "With "Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "Thanks." "Ching-ching-challa-wa China girl" "There can be no finer girl" "What does "chinga-ling challa-wa"mean?" "It means that I love" "You" " You should have been an actress." " Oh, it is just a faded dream." "Great heavens, 2:00 in the morning." "I don't know where the time has gone." "Oh, Rhoda, I can't tell you how you cheer me." "The opera, the boat ride, the ballet this evening." "It's all been so grand, so nice." "Well..." "Pug doesn't have the time for such things or the inclination." "It's been my week to howl." "He's due back Friday?" "That's what the cable says." "Well, that should make you happy." "Ecstatic." "I miss him." "Well, it looks like Poland may be finished by then." "And has your visit been a success?" "So-so, so-so." "Except for getting to know you." "And Commander Henry." "Good night, Palmer." "Good night, Rhoda." "Come, I'll walk you to the door." "Warsaw is surrounded." "We are entitled to a glass of cognac." "And still the French have not moved." "That calls for cognac." "What ails the French?" "With more tanks than we have in Poland, with 100 infantry divisions facing a paper-thin screen, a tremendous air umbrella in the RAF and their own air force." "The will isn't there." "It will go down as a miracle." "A historic military miracle." "Now it's too late for them." "He foresaw that." "He's a political genius." "I gave orders not to be disturbed." "General von Roon." "What?" "Would you repeat that, please?" "Our military attaché from Moscow." "The Russians are on the move." "Yes." "Yes." "Against whom?" "Yes." "Yes." " Against whom?" " I see." "Thank you." "The Fuehrer gave the eastern half of Poland to the Soviets in a secret protocol of the pact." "Our troops are approaching the dividing line." "The Russians are jumping in to grab their share." "What pretext are they giving?" "Due to the collapse of the Polish government, they are moving to protect the Ukrainian nationals." "Hyenas!" "Ribbentrop is coming, on his train, no doubt." "He'll give us the final lines of the protocol in the morning." "The Russian military attaché will come with him to confirm them and prevent troop clashes." "We will have to withdraw from the oil fields around Drogoby?" "That is now in the Soviet area." "We shed German blood for those oil fields." "We are finally learning the price of that pact." "The Russians will now be 200 kilometers nearer to Berlin." "More important, we shall be 200 kilometers further away from Moscow." "It's broad daylight out." "Do you wanna open those curtains?" " Is there anything going on out there?" " No, nothing unusual." "OK, let's have some daylight." "Such smoke." "Are there really that many fires?" "God, yes." "The sky was great this morning until dawn came up." "All red and smoky, like Dante's Inferno." "What about the water, Byron?" "Me and Gunga Din." ""You may talk of gin and beer when you're quartered safe out here."" "How did you haul it back?" "Did you manage to find gasoline?" "You can forget about the truck." "I think gasoline's finished in this town." "I just scrounged around till I found a horse and a cart." "Where's Natalie?" "The hospital?" "Yeah." "I'd appreciate it if you'd go over there and bring her back right away." "Listen." "The Russians have crossed the Polish border." "They're marching in this direction." "Things are looking grim for Warsaw." "The Swedish ambassador has worked out the evacuation of neutrals." "But I have to have my people prepared to move." "I'll go get her." "Byron, I have to visit this safe-conduct exit route in the morning with the ambassador." "You might come along." "Yeah, sure." "I can't leave now." "I just came on duty." "Will you listen to him?" "For once he happens to be right." "I don't want to hear about it anymore, Byron." "This is the only maternity ward left in Warsaw." "The Germans bombed St. Catherine's." "It was horrible." "Everywhere, pregnant women running around on fire, their babies burning!" "The Russians are on their way." "They're hundreds of miles away." "I've got to stay here." "They need me." "If you want to go, go ahead." "If the neutrals leave, we go with them." "Natalie, I hear what you're saying." "The young man is right." "You have to go with your people." "We don't even know if they're going." "If they do go, he can fetch me." "You can't take that risk." "You are Jewish." "That woman over there is hemorrhaging." "She will be attended to." "Go." "You have helped us." "Thank you." "Go." "Leslie Slote is nothing but a selfish bastard." "All he wants is one less thing to think about." "Still having fun, Byron?" "Yeah, more fun than a barrel of monkeys." "The ambassador's here." " Slote will let you go with us." " I think you're both crazy." "Why go near Germans when you don't have to?" "Of course we're crazy, Mark." "Why else would we be here?" "Come on." "How do we know this route is open?" "Do we have an alternate route?" "My dear, we may go rather close to the front." "I've heard guns before." "Very well, let us go then." "Please." "It's amazing that this bridge still stands." "German marksmanship is not as devastating as they claim." " Where are those soldiers going?" " They're returning from the front." "They come home for lunch or dinner, or to sleep with their wives, then they ride back and shoot at the Germans." " How far do we go?" " A few miles." "We look for advance headquarters, near an old church." "My God!" "God Almighty!" "Maybe we made a wrong turn." "We're behind German lines." "Hardly." "I don't believe we have come more than three miles from the bridge." "Stop this car." "These young people are my responsibility." "I had no idea that we'd endanger them in this way." "We must take these civilians back to Warsaw." "Colonel Rakowsky is expecting us at this moment." "The cease-fire will probably come at 2:00." " We must go back." " I'm afraid there isn't time." "I have to view the route." "So must you, in case our parties get separated." "Just a minute." "I insist that you at least take us back to the bridge first." "From there, we can hitch a ride on a bus or a truck." "Clearly, we are not behind the German lines." "Look, we are perfectly fine." "Let's go on." "Natalie, Leslie's right." "He has a responsibility." "Let's get out here." "We'll wait for you in one of those cabins." "Great idea." "We'll wait in this one right here." "I saw a woman in the doorway." "My dear, please do as you are told." "If I rode along with you, I could have a look at the layout for the American party." "Excellent." "See you shortly." "Come on, let's get inside." "Quick." "And it was just a few hundred meters down the road." "He says that the best view is from that tower." "I must make a sketch." "It's important that the refugees don't head for the wrong church." "I can draw a map." "Why don't you let me climb up there." "The colonel says that the tower has been drawing quite a lot of fire." "That's OK." "Hi." "It's OK?" "I have to sketch a map." "Speak English?" "OK." "OK." "Hey, Mark!" "Mark Hartley!" "Hey, Mark, come on." "We're leaving." "What's the matter?" "Are you OK?" "Byron, I've never been so scared in my life." "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" "OK." "I'm gonna tell you something." "My name isn't really Hartley, you see." "It's Marvin Horowitz." "Horowitz, from Brooklyn." "So?" "How is anybody going to find out about that?" "Well, I thought that President Roosevelt was gonna send us out on Army planes, but we're going to the Germans, Byron." "Germans." "I don't think I can handle that." "What are you doing?" "Stick that in your bag." "Make a good Christian out of you." " Come on, we're pulling out." " Thanks, Byron." "He's coming." "He's really scared, but he's coming." "How are you?" "What can they do?" "I have an American passport." "They don't know I'm a Jew." "Don't go getting brave and defiant." "Let's just get the hell out of here." "I'm not an imbecile, Byron." "Come on, let's go." " Natalie..." " Natalie?" "You might find it more comfortable with us in the embassy car." "Whoever copied my map did a pretty good job." "Two o'clock, right on the button." "Please keep together." "Do not make wrong turns." "It is an easy hour's walk, even for old persons." "The enemy will undoubtedly recommence hostilities at 3, and we will return the heaviest fire." "Therefore, please hurry." "Good luck to you all." "Long live freedom." "Long live Poland." " You OK?" " Yeah, yeah." "Here's our church." "Germans." " Are you afraid?" " Not anymore." "Now that it's happened," " I don't know, it's kind of like a dream." " Right, some dream, Natalie." "My name is Mark Hartley, and oy, am I a good Christian!" " Graham." " Graham, yes." "Thank you." " Graham." " Graham and Graham." "Thank you." " Oh, this is Jeff..." "Yes." " Grant." "All right." "Look at Slote, taking a cigarette from a German, for crying out loud, and laughing." "Oh, my God, I think he's bringing him over here." "Your chargé tells me your father is American Naval attaché in Berlin." " Yes, sir, he is." " I'm a Berliner." "My father is in the foreign ministry." "I believe I had the pleasure of meeting your parents at the Belgium Embassy and dancing with your mother." "What have you been doing in Warsaw?" "Oh, sightseeing." " Ernst Bayer." " Byron Henry." "Hi." " Where do we go from here?" " Klovno." "There you transfer to a train for Königsberg." "From there, the neutrals choose to either go to Stockholm or Berlin." "It's a three-hour drive." "There's still room in the embassy car if you're interested." "Bad business." "The Polish government is completely irresponsible." "Warsaw should've been declared an open city weeks ago." "This destruction is pointless." "In any event, it should be over in a day or two." "You never know." "It could take a lot longer than that." "You think so?" "Nice to have met you, Mr. Henry." "Why the hell did you get him angry?" "Blaming the Polish government for this siege!" "One minute after 3." " Poor Warsaw." " Please don't talk." "Don't say anything." "Let's just get on the truck." "Come on." "Slote said Stockholm or Berlin, huh?" " I'd like to see Berlin, myself." " Are you crazy, Natalie?" "What, are you absolutely crazy?" "You just go to Stockholm, baby." "Just pray they let you go to Stockholm." "You know something, Byron?" "This woman definitely has a screw loose." "Berel's message goes for you too." "Lekh Lekha." "Oh, for God's sakes, would you stop with the Hebrew, please?" "OK, who wants some of this?" "Listen, everybody, please." "Those are the S.S." "I'll do any talking that has to be done." "You have a gentleman named Byron Henry in your party?" "Your father represents the American Navy in Berlin?" "This message is forwarded to you via our foreign ministry." "Your parties' passports, may I have them, please?" " I am reluctant to surrender them." " I assure you it's quite routine." "They will be returned to you in Königsberg." "Thank you." "Now your roster, please." "You have no Negroes in your party." "How many Jews?" "We make no record of religious affiliation." "But you do have Jews." "Even if there were Jews in this party, I have to decline to answer." "My government's policy is one of absolute equality of treatment." "Who are these Jews, please?" "I just don't know if there are any Jews." "My government's policy is simply to maintain separate records for Jews." "I wasn't interested, you see?" "So I never asked." "I'm instructed to separate out the Jews." "Form a double line, please, alphabetically." "No." "You are in the custody of the Wehrmacht in a combat zone." "Under strict martial law." "I call this to your attention." "For your purposes, you can assume that we're all Jews." "Now, just a minute!" "What on earth do you mean by that?" "I'm not a Jew." "I don't want to be classified or treated as one." "We will all be treated alike, Clara." "That's all." " Please cooperate." " Oh, no." "No, you don't." "Nobody's putting me down for any Jew." "Sorry, Leslie, I'm just not buying it." " What is your name, madam?" " Clara Young." "Chicago, Illinois." "I'm not Jewish." "You can be damn sure of that." "Would you be kind enough to point out the Jews in your party?" "No." "Thank you, mister." "That's your business, not mine." " What is your name?" " Tom Stanley." "Now you know your party cannot board this train before I carry out my orders." "You seem to understand this matter much better than your chargé." "Who are the Jews here?" "Well, I tell you, friend, I'd like to cooperate." "I really would." "But as far as I know, there's not a one." "Not in this party." "You!" "Step forward!" "Stay where you are." "I would like your name and rank." "And I warn you, continuing this will result in a written protest from my government." "There is no reason to protest." "The officials of the other governments are cooperating." "What is your name?" "Hartley." "Mark Hartley." "Hartley?" "I see." "And under what name were you born?" " Hartley." " Really?" "And what were your parents?" "Americans." " Jews." " No." "Americans." "Mr. Hartley has been to church with me every Sunday in Warsaw." "He's a Methodist, the same as me." "I can vouch for that." "I conducted the services." "Mark is a devout Christian." "I'm sure that a physical examination would show..." "I would report that as a personal violence." "In America, circumcision at birth is routine." "I'm circumcised." "So am I." "Now, hold it, sir." "This is not a customs point." "There is no reason to search personal belongings." "What are you staring at?" "You are very pretty." "Thank you." "Rather dark." "Your ancestry?" "Italian." "Your name?" "Mona Lisa." "I see." "Step forward!" "She's my fiancée." "Leave her alone." "Joachim!" "Very well." "You love your Jews." "Take them!" "Gather all your possessions and we can board the train." "Make sure you have everything and hold the children." "Let's proceed right through." "Natalie, Byron, over here." "Thank God." "Stockholm, here I come." "I think I may have lost all interest in Berlin." " Is everyone OK?" " Well, I am now." "Leslie, you were magnificent." "Sure was." "Mona Lisa." "You fool." "I love you." "We haven't seen our son in over a year." "Ah, well." "This is a great moment." "Oh, my stars!" "Is that him coming down the steps?" " It can't be him." "He's a skeleton." " Where?" "Oh, he's disappeared." "Somewhere over there." "No, there he is!" "There he is!" "Byron!" "Byron!" "Mom!" "Dad!" "Briny, how are you?" "I'm reeling." "Been feeding us like hogs on this train." "I had lunch with three different wines." "Mom, you look great." " I'd say about 25." " Well, you look ghastly!" "What the devil were you doing in Poland?" " Well, I was..." " Dr. Neustadter, foreign ministry." "Do you feel you have been treated well, Mr. Henry?" "Yes, fair." "Very fair." " That is, once we got out of Warsaw." " Ah, well." "That's war." "We'd be pleased to have a little more about your treatment, at your convenience." "My card?" "What did that guy mean, "That is war"?" "Byron!" "Byron!" "That's the fella that ran the embassy in Warsaw." "Really tough job." " Hi." "You must be Mrs. Henry." " Hello, hello." "Commander Henry." "I'm Leslie Slote." " I'm sorry if our son was a burden." " No, on the contrary." "Byron was a remarkable help." "When I've straightened things out, I'd like to come by and tell you about it." " Perhaps put it in an official letter." " By all means." "I must run now." "I'll see you later." "Excuse me." "Now, what was that all about?" "Not much, Dad." "I think sometimes Les gets a little carried away." "Let's get you home and cleaned up." "Wait'll you see what I've got in the icebox for you." "All your favorites." "Steak, roast beef, turkey, whatever you want." "Where's that Jastrow girl?" "Isn't she still with you?" "We changed trains in Königsberg." "She went on to Stockholm." "He'll be asleep for the next 14 hours." "Thank God he's alive." "I've never heard Byron pour out words like that before." "It's an astonishing story." "Important too." "I doubt that any other American drove across Poland under German fire." " He should write a report." " I've asked him." "I'll shoot it off to the Office of Naval Intelligence." "Quite the change in Byron." "It's that girl." " He didn't say much about her." " That's the point." "He said nothing about "her"." "And yet he went to Poland on account of her." "He almost got himself killed on account of her." "Seems to me he did almost everything in Poland except become a Jew." "Maybe you could find out more about her from this man Slote." "She was supposed to be engaged to him, wasn't she?" "I don't understand it." "He's so much older than Byron." "So different." "I can't quite picture the girl that bridges that gap." "She must be quite some girl." "Well, we'll have to have Sally Forrest invite Byron for Friday." " Friday?" " Oh, didn't I mention?" "Palmer Kirby leaves Saturday, Sally's arranged a going-away lunch at the Kaiserpavillon." "Nice fellow, that Kirby." "I like him." " Well, I..." " Shall I delay the dessert, sir?" " No, bring the menus." " The menus." "Very good, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Well, this is a, sort of a hail and farewell party, I guess." "Hail to Byron Henry and farewell to Palmer Kirby." "I'm sure Palmer, or "Fred", as he likes his friends to call him, is as glad to be getting out of Berlin as Byron was to get out of Warsaw." "So to Byron, welcome." "To Fred Kirby, happy landings." " And to all of us, cheers." " Cheers." "Bill, what do you suppose?" "Warsaw, I guess." "Must be over." "Could it be an armistice?" "I've heard armistice talk." "Wouldn't that be wonderful to stop this stupid war before it gets going?" "It's been going." "Well, you know what I mean." "Do they expect us to stand up?" "Well, I'm not standing." " Watch what you're doing, please." " You go and call your headwaiter." "Headwaiter?" "I am the headwaiter." "I am your head." "It might be smart to just leave." "Oh, yes, I think we should just pay and go." "We haven't had our dessert yet." "Might be a good idea to knock that waiter on his tail." " I'll volunteer for that." " No!" "No incident." "That's what he wants." " I told you to call your headwaiter." " You're in a hurry, honorable sir?" "Then you better leave." "We are very busy at this restaurant." "Stop!" "Turn around!" "Now, you go and get your headwaiter." "And do it right now." "I really do think we should leave." "It isn't worth the trouble, Pug." "Yes?" "You have a complaint?" "We are a party of Americans." "Military attachés." "We didn't rise for your anthem." "We are neutrals." "This waiter chose to take offense." "He's been clumsy, rude and dirty." "He's jostled the ladies." "His conduct has been swinish." "You tell him to behave himself, and we need a clean cloth for our dessert." "You will be served properly." "My apologies." "Well, I'll be damned." "Well done." "Beautifully done." "Oh, Pug does have a way about him." "OK, Dad." "We hadn't had our dessert." ""Thank you for a grand letter, old toff." "Very vivid." ""I loved that touch about the skywriting over Berlin, advertising toothpaste." ""Imagine, with a war going on." ""That says so much about the present German frame of mind." ""Write me again whenever you get a chance, about your life in Berlin," ""what you and your wife do for fun," ""who your German friends are, what the people and newspapers are saying," ""how the food is in the restaurants," ""just anything and everything that occurs to you." ""What does a loaf of bread cost in Germany today?" ""Washington is still incredibly hot and muggy," ""though the leaves have started turning."" " Hey, you look snazzy." " Thank you." "I thought maybe we might take in the new Emil Jannings movie." "Sally Forrest said she'd like to see it, if you're too stacked-up." " I'll be back early." " OK." "Bye." "Hello, darling." "Franz, I'll need the car." "Hi, Dad." " You tell Franz you want to see me?" " What about that report?" " What report?" " On Poland." "Oh, yeah, that report." "Dad, there's something I want to ask you." "What would you think about my joining the British navy or the RAF?" "I take it you want to fight the Germans." "Well, I gotta say, when I was in Warsaw, I enjoyed myself." "I felt useful." "Quite a change, coming from you." "I thought a military career was O-U-T, out." "I'm not talking about a career." "I hate to discourage an admirable impulse, but what might be a good idea now is to ask for active duty in our Navy..." " No, thanks!" " Will you just hear me out!" "The reservists who go out to sea now will draw the best duty if and when the action comes." "You'll have the jump on 99% of them." "I could be in for years." "Suppose the war ends?" "Well, you're not doing anything else." "I wrote Dr. Jastrow." "I'll wait to hear from him." "Well, I guess this is it." "Your happiness." "Oh, that." "I've had that." "It's in the past." "Did you get your connection to Lisbon?" "The clippers are jammed." "I may be hung up there a few days." "Well, I wish I had that in prospect." "I hear it's becoming the gayest city in Europe." "Well, come along." "Don't tease me, Palmer." "Oh, I was supposed to call you Fred, wasn't I?" "Somehow you don't strike me as a Fred." " You know, that's very strange." " What is?" "Anne always called me Palmer." "She never called me anything else." "I wish I'd known her." "Yes, I think you would have become good friends." "What do you think of Pug?" "That's a tough one." "He's certainly on the ball." "That was quite a job he did on that waiter." "But he's a hard man to know." "Well, in all these years, I don't think I know him very well." "I've come to admire him, I can tell you that." "See here, Rhoda," "I'm really a proper fellow, all in all." "But I have to tell you this." "You are a wonderful woman." "I have been sad, and very dull since Anne died, and you've made me feel very alive again." "Very much." "I'm sorry." "Does that offend you?" "Oh, don't be a fool." "It makes me very happy." "You know that." "However, it's going to be a little hard on my contentment for a day or two." "I..." "Oh, damn!" "Are you all right?" "Everything is just fine, dear." "I..." "I do wish you'd write, just once in a while." "Just a friendly little scribble to let me know you're alive and well." "I'd like that." "I'll write the day I get home." " You will?" " Yes." "That's fine." "They haven't called the plane." "No... but my chauffeuring job is done and..." "I'm leaving you here and now." "This is as far as I go, dear." "Have a wonderful trip." "Hey, Dad." "See what Franz collects?" "Some real treasures." "Been panhandling them off of tourists for years." "The fits you threw about me reading these." "The sight still doesn't thrill me." "Thank you, Franz." "Great Superman." "So how did Hitler look making his speech?" "You're aware he made one?" " Yeah, I listened on the radio." " He looked all too well." "Licking the Poles must have toned up his system." "You think he meant that "outstretched hand of peace" business?" "Who knows?" "If the Allies buy it, he's got half of Poland for the price of a quick, cheap campaign." "The lies he told about the Polish campaign." "What contempt for his own people!" "Well, you put that in your report, if you ever write it." "You know me and paperwork." "Well, I'll expand it." " Did you hear about the Royal Oak?" " Yeah." "Some story about that U-boat skipper, sneaking right into the British fleet and sinking an old battle wagon like the Oak, then sliding on home to glory." "The German submariner is a good man." "Did you ever think of going into submarines?" "You get into submarines, you got a tough job getting out." " That's the service I'd choose." " You don't sink a battleship every day." "You think that's what appeals to me?" "If you're interested, a classmate, Red Tully, runs the submarine school in New London." "Hey, easy." "It's a tough physical, but you could pass it." "Forget it, Dad." "In short, the West has shown itself spineless and impotent." "The tide is with us." "The time to strike is now!" "You saw how the British and the French reacted to the Polish war." "Nothing but talk!" "No one was really ready to fight." "September 29th, 1939." "The leaders of the German armed services, fresh from their great triumph in Poland, are summoned for an urgent night meeting with Adolf Hitler." "Prepare to execute Case Yellow." "We attack France in full force in November." "November?" "Five weeks from now?" "Mein Fuehrer, the Luftwaffe is ready and eager for that battle." "Fuehrer, the transfer of the entire Wehrmacht to the western front is a colossal logistical problem." "It can be done." "Five months would not be too long." "Nonsense." "You exaggerate." "My decision is irrevocable." "We attack in the west." "Case Yellow will go forward not later than November 12th." "That is all." "Hello, Byron." "What are you reading?" "Mein Kampf?" "I just bought it." "How you doing?" "Are you coming back to the States?" "Our transportation is set for Thursday." "I really don't know yet." "I..." "Why don't we go down and have some coffee and pastries." "We'll talk." "Come on, let's be a couple of Berliners." " I don't have a lot of time, but..." " Oh, relax." "Coffee will not make me relax, you understand that." "Boy, this is the life." "All these nice, polite, cordial, joking, happy people." "Did you ever see a nicer city?" "The only thing is, these folks have been blowing the hell out of Poland, pounding a city as nice as Berlin into a horrible pulp." "It puzzles me." "Well, the contrast between the frontline and the back area is always a little startling." "No doubt Paris was charming while Napoleon was doing his butcheries." "Come on, Slote." "You can't tell me that Germans aren't just a little bit strange." "Yes, the Germans are strange." "That's why I want to read Mein Kampf." "One tried to blow my head off." "I'd like to know why." "Well, Mein Kampf is just the froth on the cauldron." "I'm overdue at the embassy." "I have to go." "Are you or aren't you coming with us?" "What's Natalie's plan?" "She may try to work her way back to Siena from London." "She had that notion." "But that may be impossible." "Does she even know the word?" "I don't have time to talk about Natalie Jastrow now." "But I'll tell you this." "I haven't had a moment's peace of mind since I met that lioness." "Why don't you marry her?" "I just may, if she'll have me." "She'll have you." "I don't think I'll be going with you." "I'm gonna stay on here with my folks for a while." "Let me know if you hear anything about where Natalie went." "Certainly." "Enjoy Mein Kampf." "All right, Pug." "What's it all about?" "Only a letter." "A letter?" "What letter?" "From whom?" "Well, goodness me, Pug!" "It's only from Madeline." " Who did you think it was from?" " Good Lord, how was I to know?" "The Gestapo or somebody, from your manner." "Honestly!" "It came to the embassy." "Well, what's wrong?" "She's gotten a nice raise in salary." "Read the last page." "Oh, I see what you mean." "An apartment of her own in New York." "At 19." "Oh, Pug." "Don't worry about Madeline." "She's as strait-laced as you are." "What can a girl do that's worth that much money?" "That's what a senior-grade lieutenant makes after ten years!" "It's absurd!" "Well... would you like me to go to New York and be with her?" "We can't afford that." "The Navy won't pay your way." "Briny, you're going back with Slote." "Maybe you can find a job in New York." "I've been meaning to talk with you about that." "I got a letter too, from Dr. Jastrow." " I'm going to Siena." " You're what?" " Going to Siena." " Who says so?" "I do." "Isn't this something we should all discuss?" "Is that girl there?" "No." "She may be coming from London, Dr. Jastrow doesn't know." "What about money?" "Is Jastrow paying your way?" " He says he can't." " Then he's not expecting you." "No... but I can afford it." "I saved most of what I earned." "That's what you're going to do." "Literary research, in some nice Italian villa, while there's a war on." " If I'm called to active duty, I'll go." " That's mighty big-hearted of you!" "If you didn't, the Navy would toss you in the brig for a couple of years." "I'm real proud of you, Briny." "You do as you please." "Hello, AJ." "Byron, how good to see you." " May I go back to work now?" " Yes, yes." "Of course." "Gracious!" "It's gonna take me a week to get over the start you gave me." "We were talking about you at breakfast." "We were certain you'd be back in the States." " Is she here?" " Yes, of course." "She's up in the library." " Would you excuse me, sir?" " Oh, yes, yes." "It is you!" "Nobody else galumphs up those stairs like that." " Why the devil did you come back?" " I have to make a living." "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" "I thought I'd just show up." "You look well-rested." "Put on a little weight." "Yeah, I feel really fine." "Good." "Well, we can use you." "We're still working on that Constantine book." "General Brauchitsch has been summoned to a meeting with Hitler." "He carries a memorandum signed by all the leaders of the German army asserting that an attack against France at this time is impossible." "At German Army Headquarters in Zossen, on the outskirts of Berlin, the generals tensely wait for word from Brauchitsch." "I'm going for a walk." "I'll join you." "Heil, mein Fuehrer." "I must confide in you on a very serious matter." "I have been approached by certain by certain army personages of the loftiest rank and prestige with a frightening proposal." "What did you reply?" "That they were talking high treason." "Now I will confide in you." "So, what is new in all this?" "Fuehrer, it is the army's final position." " Case Yellow cannot proceed." " Why not?" "Because of the military fundamentals, as stated." "Such as?" "The season, to begin with." "The meteorologists predict continuous soaking rains for weeks." "It rains on the enemy too." "The conspiracy has been going on that long?" "Since Czechoslovakia?" "If the British had not caved in at Munich, perhaps." "Who knows?" "But they did." "And ever since then, ever since his big triumph, it has been hopeless." "Hopeless." " Empty talk, talk, talk." " I am staggered." "Eine hundred times I myself could have shot the man." "I can still, at any time." "But what would result?" "Chaos." "The people are for him." "He has unified the country." "We have to stand to our posts, save him from making military mistakes." "But we really cannot proceed with Case Yellow." "Brauchitsch will get a postponement." "And if he does not?" "Fuehrer, even the supply of artillery shells is totally inadequate." "Who says so?" "General Thomas, my chief of economics and armaments." "Do you know how many artillery shells of all calibers we have in the staging areas?" " Right this minute?" " No." " How many are in the reserve dumps?" " It's up to my staff..." "What the monthly annual production of shells is?" "Or the projected rise is in production, for the next six months," " month by month?" " Who keeps such figures in his head?" "I do!" "The supply is adequate." "I tell you so, and I am a field soldier who depended on artillery for four years to protect his life." "Check with your staff." "If one of those figures is wrong, you can postpone Case Yellow." "Otherwise, you march!" "And next time you come to see me, know what you're talking about!" "If we..." "If we march, unprepared as we are, defeatism will run rampant." "It will destroy the Wehrmacht and the fatherland." "The morale of the army was low even in the Polish campaign" " against an enemy in collapse..." " You're questioning to me?" "To me?" "The courage of the German soldier?" " I am talking facts." " What facts?" "Back up this monstrous assertion!" " Well, I..." " In what units was morale low?" "What action was taken?" "How many death sentences were handed out for cowardice?" "Speak up!" "I will fly to the front and pass the death sentences myself!" "Name one instance of failure of nerve!" "One specific instance!" "I..." "Instances..." " It was common knowledge." " Common knowledge?" "!" "What is common knowledge is that Army Headquarters at Zossen crawls with cowards." "You opposed me on rearming the Rhineland." "You opposed me on the Anschluss with Austria." "You opposed me on Czechoslovakia, until the British came crawling to me!" "You dirtied in your trousers, you heroes of Zossen, at the idea of marching into Poland!" "Well... have I once been wrong?" "Have you once been right?" "Answer me!" " Mein Fuehrer..." " I know your go-slow tactics!" "I know your Zossen tricks, your Zossen schemes, your Zossen ideas!" "Tell everyone who signed this insubordinate Zossen rubbish to beware!" "I will ruthlessly crush everybody, up to the rank of a field marshal, who dares to oppose me." "You do not have to understand." "You only have to obey!" "The German people understand me." "I am..." "Germany." "My God!" "Is something the matter?" "No, no, no." "Sorry." "Nothing." "Well..." "Briny?" "Yeah?" "Well, I might as well tell somebody and I guess it'll be you." "Guess what I hold here in my hot little hand." "A proposal of marriage from a gentleman named Leslie Slote," "Rhodes Scholar, rising diplomat and elusive bachelor." "What do you think of that, Byron Henry?" "Congratulations." "There's Aaron, and I'm in a fog." "Oh, this is Natalie, my niece." "Dottore Buffari." "Alien Registration Bureau, Firenze." "Would you go upstairs and get my resident status file?" "My file too?" "No, no, no." "Only the professor's file." "Again, please." "Aaron, why was that official checking your papers today?" "Oh, just a technicality." "Some clumsiness about letting my passport lapse." "That makes no difference." "Renewal is automatic." "That's what I thought." "But it seems now if you're not native-born, there are problems." "Besides, I imagine being the last permanent American resident in Siena may have helped stir up the mud." "What about those actors down the road, Tom and Ethel Searle?" " Gone." " Cleared out." "Lock, stock and barrel." "After 15 years." "Shipping every stick back to the United States." "That beautiful villa of theirs?" "What about that?" "They abandoned it, said they couldn't afford to get stuck here if war spread." "That's the difference between buying and leasing." "You just walk away." "You know, sir, if you believe there's a danger, don't you think your skin comes first?" "I have no such fear." "I'm rather tired." "Tell Maria to bring my cheese and fruit to the study." "Shall we take the coffee in my room?" "Yeah, sure." "I've never seen AJ more upset." "Well, Berel gave him the right advice." ""Get out."" "Now maybe he will." "How far away that all seems." "Do you ever think of Warsaw?" "Yeah." "I dream about it a lot." "God, so do I." "That hospital." "I keep going round and round in my head at night." "Well, what do you think of old Slote's proposal to make an honest woman of me?" "I'm not surprised." "You're not?" "Well, I'm stunned." "I never thought I'd live to see the day." "He told me in Berlin he might marry you." "Yeah, well, he's had that option open for a hell of a long time." "So you had a big discussion about me in Berlin, did you, you two gentlemen?" "No, it's not a big discussion." "This is getting interesting." "What else did he say?" "That you were no girl for me to get involved with." "And that he hadn't had any peace of mind since he first laid eyes on you." "Two accurate statements." "Don't you know about Leslie and me?" "Big, tempestuous thing in Paris, years and years ago." "He didn't want to marry me, because I'm Jewish, and it might have loused up his diplomatic career." "Evidently, he's thrown the towel in." "Trouble is, I think I know why." "He's lonesome for you." "He behaved disgustingly in the Swedish ambassador's car." "I despised him for it and let him know." "That was the turnaround." " You exaggerate that whole thing." " Don't be mealy-mouthed." "All he did was turn yellow and hide behind my skirts." "The ambassador almost laughed in his face." "I'm not saying I won't marry him because he panicked under fire." "After all, he behaved well enough at the railroad station." "This proposal is just his way of apologizing and being more of a man." "And it is hardly the answer to my maidenly prayers." "It's what you want." "Well, I don't know." "When I first told my father I loved a Christian, he had a heart attack." "No, I mean a real heart attack." "Now my mother's written that he's had another one, and I've cabled home to see how serious it is." "I'm sorry." "So there'd be that whole fight again." "And then there's Aaron." "He's not your problem." "He's got to get himself out of Italy." "The sooner, the better." "And then there's another complication." "The biggest." "What's that?" "Don't you know, Briny?" "Haven't you a little inkling?" "Come on." "Stop it." "I really don't know what you're talking about." "Well, then, I'll tell you." "You've done it, you devil!" "And you know it." "You've done exactly what you set out to do the very first day you came here." "I'm in love with you." "What a dumb, stunned expression." "Don't you believe me?" "I only hope it's true." "No, Byron." "Look, I just had to do that or die." "But it's no good!" "I've been fighting it off and fighting it off, but it's no good." "You're a boy and a Christian, and I cannot go through it again!" "Don't look at me like that, Briny." "I think you'd better leave." "Please, go now!" "God!" "You're such a gentleman!" "It's one of the unbelievable things about you." "Do you want to stay?" "I just don't want to make any mistakes." "I'll do anything you want." "I absolutely adore you." "Listen would you think of marrying me?" "That's incredible." "Two proposals in one day." "It never rains but it pours." "Natalie, I know you think I'm crazy." "If you really love me..." "Oh, no, no." "Wait a minute." "This is insane." "The first idea is the right one." "You'd better go." "I know you're serious, and I'm terribly, terribly touched." "But you know, Byron, the one thing we've got is time." "We've got all the time in the world." "I swear we do." "You won't come back." "I know that." "Things will get difficult here." "Of course, I could go to Arizona or New Mexico." "They're such dull, arid, zero-culture places." "The very thought of trying to write there..." "My books may not be important, but still the work is what keeps me going." "But, AJ, your books are important." "Are they?" "Why?" "Well, of course, they're very readable and often brilliant." "But that's not their distinction." "Their originality lies in their spirit." "They're very Jewish in a tough, unsentimental way." "It made me realize how much Christendom owes to this bizarre little folk we belong to." "Bless you, my dear." "I know I've evolved into a pagan, a materialist, a hedonist." "I fell in love with the splendor of Christianity and Jesus long, long ago." "But none of that has made me less Jewish." "That is something that nobody in the family can understand, your father least of all." "I'm so grateful to you that you can." "How long after you go do you think Byron will stay?" "He makes me feel so secure just being here." "Then why not give him a raise?" "That'll convince him more than anything." "I don't think he's ever made a penny before." "Good morning." "Sorry I overslept." "I didn't get too much rest last night." " Are you going someplace?" " The Rome airport." "My mother cabled that my father's worse." "My brother wrecked his health in the garment business." " Tell me something, Byron." " What?" "Tell me when you decided you liked me." "When you took off your sunglasses." "My sunglasses?" "When was that?" "Remember in the villa?" "You were in the car with Slote." "You took off those big sunglasses and that was the first time I saw your eyes." "So?" "You asked when I fell in love with you." "That's the trouble with you, you make everything sound so simple." "It's too simple." "Listen, I want to talk." "Talk all you want." "Listen to me carefully, Byron." "How old are you?" "I'm old enough for you, Natalie." "Old enough for what, to sleep with me?" "The problem is, what are you gonna do?" "I have an MA and I can teach, but what have you got?" "I mean, you have a smile that drives me absolutely out of my mind." "Listen, I think I'm going to tell you what I really think." "You are trained for something." "You're a Naval officer." "That's one thing I made a career of not being." "I'm just in the reserves." "What if we go to war?" "You'd fight, wouldn't you?" "Well, what else would you do?" "That's the way your mind works, and I love it, but I don't want to be the wife of a Navy officer." "I can't think of a more ridiculous and awful way for me to live." "Hey, I wouldn't marry a test pilot or an actor either." "Don't you understand?" "Hey, what's the matter?" "Natalie." "Why are you crying?" "Shut up, Byron." "This is an insane conversation." "The more I try to make sense out of all this, the crazier it gets." "Oh, darling, this doesn't solve anything." "Three days before Case Yellow, the attack on France, and Adolph Hitler tours the western front." "The same everywhere?" "From every staging area around the front, Fuehrer." " The latest meteorological report?" " No letup for at least two weeks." "Are you prepared to march nevertheless?" "My Fuehrer, the army awaits your orders." "Postponed." "This will be the first of 19 postponements of Case Yellow." "Attention, please." "Flight number 75 is now arriving from Berlin." "You're all checked in." "The flight's been delayed until 4:30." " Oh, damn." " Oh, that's great." "An extra half-hour, it's like a lifetime." " Holy cow, there's my father!" " Your father?" "Where?" "There, with that group of guys coming through the door." "Wonder why he didn't tell me he was coming." "Hey, Dad!" " Briny, how about this?" " What are you doing here?" "Mr. Gianelli, my son." " I'm delighted to meet you." " Pleased to meet you, sir." "Well, we'll meet you outside." " Why didn't you call?" " I'm sorry." "Everything happened sudden-like." "I meant to ring you tonight." "Why are you here?" "Natalie's father's sick." "She's going home." " Has she left already?" " No, she's sitting over there." "So that's the famous Natalie Jastrow?" "I've gotta meet that girl." "Natalie, this is my dad." "Sorry to hear about your father." "I'm going home to see how serious it is." "Will you be coming back?" "Not if Dr. Jastrow returns to America." "He'd be well-advised to do that, fairly fast." "Well, I guess I'd better mosey along, Briny." "It's not right to keep these foreign-ministry types waiting." "Byron tells me you know the Tudsburys." "You know, Pamela and I were great friends in Paris." " Really?" " She's lovely." " She's a lunatic driver." " You don't have to tell me." "She drove me to Chartres once and scared me witless." "I'm sure it would take more than that to scare you." "Well, I'm glad to have met you, even in this accidental way." "It explains a lot of things." "Happy landings." "Thank you." "That is some girl." "What you didn't tell me was how pretty she is." " Well, I think so." " A man could drown in those eyes." "She is stunning." "But, like I said all along still goes." "That is a grown-up woman." "No offense." "No offense taken." "I'm in love." "Look, Warren's getting married on the 20th of May, the day after he finishes carrier training." " I'll be sure and be home for that." " Good." "Will we be able to have dinner or breakfast tomorrow?" "Breakfast, maybe." "Meet me at the embassy at about 7." "You better get on back to her." "She's sitting there all alone." "He really liked me?" "You bowled him over." "If you're not coming back, wire me." "I'll take the first plane home." " Byron..." " And don't marry Slote." "How young you are." "Promise me?" "You know what Lenin said. "Promises, like piecrusts, are meant to be broken."" "Forget about Lenin, just promise me." "You idiot, don't you know how much I love you?" "Bye, darling." "Subtitles by SDI Media Group"