Five Past Midnight - James Thayer [31]
"Who gave him his bent for commando operations?" Dietrich asked.
"Americans routinely circumcise their male children," Reichsführer-SS Himmler commented. "Irrespective of race or religion. Did you know that? Doubtless it makes them prone to brutality."
Eberhardt chewed on his lip a moment before continuing. "From his records at Berlin Polytechnic we know that in 1935 Cray graduated from Princeton, a university in the state of New Jersey. His marks were excellent, and he received a Wallingford scholarship to study advanced engineering courses at Berlin Polytechnic. He had a Kreuzberg address while in Berlin. Professor Hock does not recall him ever saying anything in class."
"But you said Hock remembers him well," Dietrich prompted.
"Not from anything in class. Professor Hock was walking across Berlin Polytechnic's commons one day, between the administration building and the engineering building. A half-dozen Wehrmacht cadets were taking turns dueling with sabers."
Himmler interrupted, "The party has not purposely encouraged dueling, of course. But our lads have caught the Prussian martial spirit, and who's to blame them?"
Eberhardt went on, "Apparently the students had been practicing with each other, perhaps trying to gain scars on their cheeks like von Rundstech's. Professor Hock says the students were boisierous, and were showing off, making sure passersby saw their skills with the blades."
"And this Jack Crayjomed them?" Dietrich asked.
"Not exactly. Cray was also on the commons, swinging at a ball with a bat, a baseball bat. He was hitting the ball against the side of the engineering building again and again. The cadets began to taunt him, questioning his manliness."
"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?" Dietrich asked "Professor Hock saw the entire sorry episode," Eberhardt answered. "The duelers called out things like 'Do all Americans play with sticks instead of swords?' That kind of puerile thing. Cray ignored them for a while, batting his ball But then the cadets walked over to the American, taunting him."
Director Golz wagged his head. "You can see it coming, Otto."
"Finally one of them, a cadet named von Dehm, challenged the American to a duel. At this point the American finally ceased batting the ball and turned to the cadets. Professor Hock says that other students had begun gathering around, watching. The American said, ‘You don't know anything about dueling'. Cadet von Dehm shoved a cutlass under Cray's nose and replied, 'I'll teach you the rudiments — the Prussian thrust and the Mecklenburg parry — but it'll be a painful lesson'. The other cadets hooted."
"Professor Hock heard all of this?" Dietrich asked. "He admits to having been among the assembling crowd. In any event, the American smiled winningly, Hock says, and then very suddenly and unexpectedly charged von Dehm with the baseball bat." Golz shook his head again. Himmler sniffed, "Not very sporting, I'd say."
"It was over in two seconds," Eberhardt concluded. "Von Dehm was on the ground, his cutlass in the grass beside him, his right wrist and right collarbone broken. And Jack Cray said, ‘That's called my Babe Ruth thrust'."
Golz laughed but saw Himmler's scowl and promptly quieted himself.
Gestapo Müller asked, "Who is Babe Ruth?"
"I'll find out." Eberhardt bent over the table to write a reminder to himself. "But, more important, Jack Cray is loose and appears headed to Berlin."
"Are we certain he is not still in Bohlen, near Colditz?" Müller asked.
"AWA General Reinecke ordered a class-one search. The village was circled by over five thousand members of the Home Guard, Hitler Youth, BDM, police, and prison-service guards. Bohlen was searched house to house. The American is no longer there."
Himmler said, "This Jack Cray is coming to Berlin to attempt to assassinate the Führer."
"How do you know that?" Dietrich asked.
Himmler was so unaccustomed