Five Past Midnight by James Thayer Read Free Book Online

teeth clenched against the din, "Where'd it come from, sir?"
    Colonel Janssen's face was carefully deadpan. "I purchased it at a curiosity shop in Leipzig yesterday."
    A puzzled moment passed, then understanding creased Heydekampf's face. "And you received a good-conduct testimonial in return, is that it, sir?"
    The colonel drew himself up stiffly. "You are being insubordinate." Then he softened. "I know you are dedicated to the service of this camp, Lieutenant Heydekampf. Thanks to you, no POWs have escaped in all your time here as camp officer, a remarkable achievement considering the escape artists interned here. But your dedication to the Reich should not cloud your understanding of what is to come for us."
    Heydekampf asked with acid sweetness, "You are saying that we must look out for ourselves, is that it, Colonel?"
    "POW Captain MacMillan signed a document saying that I had treated him humanely during his two years at Colditz. This piece of paper may get me through difficult times in the weeks to come. To insinuate that I've acted traitorously is unfair to me, Lieutenant."
    Heydekampf chewed back his anger. The colonel was right. Janssen was a patriot and a fine prison administrator. And he was always fair. He had divided evenly among the guards the American airmen's emergency rations found in the downed Mitchell bomber, which had crashed in a pear orchard a kilometer from the castle. Heydekampf's portion had come to half a can of Spam and a Hershey bar, his first chocolate in three months. None of the American crew had survived. Their bodies had been pulled from the wreckage and buried in the military cemetery near the river. Their dogtags would be given to the Red Cross.
    The good-conduct testimonials had lately become a currency in the camp. Heydekampf knew that Colditz's other Lageroffizier, Lieutenant Birzer, had traded a precious kilo of bacon for one from the POW tank officer, Lieutenant Burke. Some of the guards were gathering them like children collected stamps before the war, believing that if they could present twenty of the testimonials their blamelessness would be proven beyond doubt.
    Heydekampf smiled crookedly. "Couldn't you have made it a trumpet, Colonel? I don't know how much of this racket I can endure."
    "POW MacMillan was a difficult bargainer, and..."
    Shouts came from the marching formation. Janssen and Hey- dekampf turned to the sound. A fight had erupted among the prisoners. The bagpipe was thrown into the air. Two prisoners fell to the ground, flailing at each other. The other POWs roared, quickly choosing sides.
    Heydekampf rushed toward the fray then hesitated, quickly swinging his gaze the length of the yard. Fistfights were classic POW ruses, designed to draw attention away from an escape. The lieutenant saw nothing unusual. He started again for the two brawlers. One of them was Harold MacMillan.
    "Break it up," he bellowed in English. He waded into the crowd.
    Another shout, a desperate animal shriek of fear, instantly halted the fight. The cry came from the direction of the Saalhaus, the same corner of the yard where the remains of the delousing shed were.
    Heydekampf pivoted to the sound. He saw a body slam into the ground.
    "No," he gasped, then sprinted toward the body, pushing aside POWs. He came to the broken form.
    It had come to rest facedown at the base of a five-story wing of the castle. A brown cardboard suitcase made from a Red Cross bulk-food box had hit the ground nearby, as had two moss-covered shingles.
    Heydekampf rolled the body over.
    "Damn," he said softly. "Damn it to hell. It's the crazy American."
    Blood was coming from the American's ears, which Heydekampf knew from his Great War service was evidence of a fractured skull. The blood was gathering at the American's neck, staining his coat and flowing onto the ground. One of the American's eyes was blackened and filling with blood. A ruptured eye socket. The POW's arm must have crashed into the ground first, because