Chapter 8 Chapter VII

They walked into a nightclub in Germany, where the band was playing jig.This is a rectangular hall without any decoration, and the white lamps without shades make people feel boring.The surrounding walls are also rough painted.High domed ceiling; looks like a cathedral.There used to be a school auditorium here, but the rest of the building is destroyed. The chairs are all folding hard boards, and the tables are also bare boards without any decoration.The hall is full, and people are crowded together; as a result, the waiter is often unable to serve a certain table directly, and has to let the people in the middle pass the wine.Wolfe was a well-known figure here, so they followed his stocky frame to a table against the wall.

Wolfe passed cigarettes to those around him and said to the waiter, "Six glasses of schnapps." At the same time, he slipped the remaining cigarettes in the box into the waiter's hand. "Be authentic." The waiter bowed and left in a hurry. Mrs. Meyer turned her shiny blond head and looked around the hall. "It's not much here." Eddie patted her hand. "Honey, it's for the losers." Mosca smiled slightly at Helian, "It's not too bad, is it?" She shook her head. "It's a relief," she said, "I should see how my fellow Germans entertain." Mosca hadn't noticed a hint of guilt in her voice, but Eddie understood, his pretty His little mouth grinned.A weapon has been found this time, he thought, and felt a sudden rush of elation, a sudden rush of excitement.

"Speaking of this place, there is an interesting story." Wolfe said. "They bought the education director of the military government to say in writing that the house is not suitable for school activities, and then they bought the art director to say that the house can be used for entertainment. No one knows. Is the house safe," he added, "whether it is safe or not, it will be closed in two or three days anyway." "Oh, what's going on?" Helian asked. "We'll see," Wolfe said, with a meaningful smile. Leo, always in high spirits, pointed to the whole hall and said, "Look at them, I've never seen such a sad face. They pay to be here to be happy!" Everyone laughed.The waiter brought them wine.

Eddie raised his glass, his handsome face looking ridiculously serious.He said: "I wish the happiness of our two friends, a very suitable couple. Look at them, one is a very gentle and beautiful princess, the other is a tyrant with deep locks and thick eyebrows. He will mend his socks every night. Get the slippers ready for him, and she will be rewarded with a few well-chosen harsh words and a spanking. The marriage will be happy, my friend. If he doesn't beat her to death first, they It will take a hundred years." Everyone drank, Mosca and Helian smiled at each other, they had an answer, an answer that no one else at this table could guess.

Both lovers go to dance in a small space in front of a raised stage at the other end of the house.Only Wolf and Leo remained.Wolfe looked around with a worldly gaze. Cigarette smoke rose above the people, heading for the domed ceiling.The sponsors of the wedding are curious strangers who don't know each other, which can be said to be a hodgepodge.There are the elderly couples who have probably already sold a good piece of furniture and are determined to change their wearisome monotony by going out for a night; Friends of sergeants and military sales officers, with young girls in nylon stockings and perfume, and older businessmen who bought and sold jewellery, furs, cars, and other high-end goods accompanied their companions. They are some gentle and quiet women who are not well-dressed and have worked for them for many years.A relationship of employing and being employed.

This crowded hall is not noisy, and the volume of ordinary conversation is not loud.Wine is also ordered every so long, and there is no food in sight.The band played American jazz as much as possible.Drummer Zuobu shook his head, vigorously but restrainedly imitating American players, which of course did not help the inner sense of rhythm. Wolff nodded to some of the men at the other tables, all of whom were black-market dealers with whom he had done business in cigarettes.The Americans recognized them as soon as they entered, and more so than anything else, because the ties they wore attracted attention.Everyone else here just happens to be wearing evening goggles.But for some reason, the black market couldn't supply ties, and people had to use drab rags instead.Wolf took that to mind immediately, and found another way to make money."

The music ended and everyone went back to their seats.Eddie blushed from contact with Mrs. Meyer's body while dancing.When Helene sat down, leaning back in Mosca's chair with her hand on his arm, Eddie stared at her intently.In a trance, he seemed to see her firm white body lying on the brown military blanket, and slowly he stretched his face closer to her well-groomed, unresisting head.For a split second he was sure he was going to succeed—he knew how it was done—and when the rosy halo lit up, his illusion was shattered.Rose is the only warm color in the room, under which the band plays.then.Three short, commanding trumpets sounded.

The thin humming died down, the bright white lights dimmed, and the room became cavernous, its high dome-shaped ceiling invisible in the darkness. A troupe of girls took to the stage to perform a dance.It was so badly danced that there wasn't even a little polite applause.The dance is followed by juggling and then acrobatics.Then a female singer sang for everyone.She was stout and had a high-pitched but small voice. "My God!" said Mosca. "Let's go." Wolfe shook his head and said, "Wait a little longer." The audience is engrossed, still anticipating something.The trumpet sounded again, and the lights dimmed to almost pitch blackness; the stage at the end of the room turned into a glowing yellow area, and a short, vigorous man walked slowly out of the darkness at the side of the stage nonchalantly, his plump With a round, rubbery face, a natural comedian.The crowd greeted him with stormy applause.He starts talking to the audience, as if there are no boundaries between them.

"I have to apologize to everyone because part of my famous show can't be played tonight. My dog ​​Frederick is missing and can't be found anywhere." He paused.Apologetic, then feigned anger, "Shame, shame. I've trained ten dogs and they keep getting lost. Gone in Berlin, Gone in Düsseldorf, and now here again ...always..a girl hurried onto the stage and whispered a few words beside him. The comedian nodded, turned cheerfully to the audience and said, "Friends, the manager wants me to inform you that this Meat sandwiches are available right after the show. He blinked and said, "No need for a ration card, but of course it's sold at a high price."Well, as I said just now, I’ll give you a show—” He stopped. His face was very funny, first he was surprised, then he was sad. Finally came one who understood everything. The audience burst into laughter.” Frederick, my Frederick," he yelled, rushing off the stage. He wandered back into the stage lights again, munching loudly on a sandwich. When the laughter died down, he wailed ."Too late.It can be regarded as a good friend who persisted until the end.It's really a sweet and delicious sandwich." After that, he took a bite, and suddenly more than half of the sandwich disappeared.

He waited for the applause to die down, wiped his mouth, and took a piece of paper from his pocket. He raised a hand to silence everyone and started again: "Today everyone is worried about the calories. I am here to read to you that we need 1300 calories to stay alive, and from the rations imposed by the military government, we can get 1550. Card fever. I don't mean to criticize the authorities. But I want to remind everyone tonight what to do with the extra 200 calories. Listen, there are a few simple rules." He told all the corny jokes about the heat, but so deftly that the giggles came and went.His joke was interrupted by a barely clothed girl who was dancing on the stage and circling him, and he looked at her greedily and admiringly, and pulled the lure out of his pocket: A small head of lettuce and a handful of green beans.He counted, shook his head again, and said with a shrug, "She needs at least 1,000 calories."

The girl begged him.He gestured to her to explain the embarrassment.The girl reached into the front of her dress and took out a small bunch of grapes.He gestured, not enough.The girl reached into her shorts again, and he said, in a dignified and restrained manner, "I'm sorry, I can't." The girl left sadly, and he stretched out his arm, saying, "If I had a hot steak I should How nice." The laugh went up to the high domed ceiling. On stage, the buffoon's leather face.Complacent in his ability to dominate the audience.He performed a few quick mocks with gusto: Rudolf Hess, babbling and yelling frantically, fled to England on a plane; Goebbels explained to his wife the most absurd and shameless lies The reason for staying out overnight; Goering dodges under a table to avoid falling rubble while promising that Berlin will never be bombed.When the actor left the stage; another burst of deafening applause broke out.The applause continued until he appeared again.The audience was breathless one by one, but none of them moved. His hair was brushed above his eyes, a smear above his upper lip, maybe a short moustache, and his rubber face was made up to look like a terrible Hitler. Standing not far from the side of the stage, his facial expression was Half mimetic, half earnest, he displays his talent and charisma, captivating the audience with a glimpse of himself, before asking in a loud voice that fills the high domed ceiling. "Do you want me back?" There was a moment of stunned silence in the audience, and he stood there, his white powdered face slowly showing an anti-Christ grin.The audience gets what he means. The whole hall was boiling.Some men stepped onto chairs and tables, shouting, "Yah! Yah!" The women banged the tables furiously.Some stomped the floor with their feet.Some slammed their fists on the table.There was a buzzing sound in the hall, and the sound hit the surrounding walls and made the ceiling echo. Wolf stood up, across the stage where the crowd was watching, grinning grimly.Mosca has also understood.He leaned back in his chair, sipping his wine.Mrs. Meyer was looking down at the table, trying to hold back a pleasant smile, and Eddie asked her, "What's next? What's next?" Mrs Mayor said. "Nothing, nothing." Helene looked across the table at Leo.He kept his face straight, but the twitching muscles on the left side couldn't be controlled.Her face flushed suddenly, and she shook her head back and forth unconsciously, as if she didn't admit that she was responsible for the actions just now.But Leo turned his eyes away from her and stared at the stage again. The actor's rubbery face is now back to normal.As he bowed to everyone, he brushed his hair back to its original shape.The hallucinations disappeared, and he accepted everyone's applause, firmly believing that his performing arts were superb and brought joy to people. The band plays a tune.Wolfe sat down and nodded as if he understood. .People went dancing.Many glanced at their table.Two young men sitting nearby had their girls rocked with whispered jokes. Leo stared down at the table, feeling his face twitch.Angry because of being hurt, feeling helpless and hopeless.He wished someone would offer to get out of here. Mosca looked at him, understood him, and said to the others: "Let's go!" As he got up, he saw that one of the two young men had turned his chair around to face their table. , and can watch Leo while watching.While laughing happily.His forehead was bald, his face was puffy and powerful. Mosca nodded to Wolfe and said, "Let's get that guy out." Wolfe looked at Mosca carefully, as if he understood what he had already guessed and expected. "Okay, I'll use my agent card to get him out. Did you bring the guy, just in case?" "Bringing a little gadget made in Hungary," Mosb said. Leo looked up. "No, I don't want this to happen. Let's go." Helian took Mosca's arm. "Yes, let's go," she said.The rest also stood up.Wolfe nodded again, as if he had grasped something.He glanced at Leo with sympathy and contempt.At this time, he saw that Mosca had frowned, shrugged and walked out.As Wolf passed the table, he leaned over and put his face close to that of the young German, staring into his eyes, "Laughing can be very unhealthy, you know what I mean? ’ He showed his intelligence card, knowing the German would read it.He followed everyone closely while smiling.Behind them, there is no laughter. All six went back to Mosca's room for a drink.Helian started making bacon sandwiches on the electric stove on the small cabinet. . Everyone sat down around the big square table except Eddie, who stretched out on the upholstered chair in the corner of the room.Mosca unlocked the white-painted wardrobe and took out the wine and cigarettes. Eddie asked, "How did those bastards get away with it?" "They couldn't get away," Wolfe said. "He's always telling funny dirty stories, but tonight he went too far. Still, what do you guys think of the one I gave him?" Wolfe Shaking his bloated face smugly. "The Germans will never learn their lesson. You'd think if they happened to be walking down this street. They wouldn't want to make trouble anymore. But they do. They're belligerent." Mosca joked to Leo, "I'm afraid you'd better make up your mind somewhere. Palestine or America." Leo shrugged and sipped his drink. "Can you go to America?" Wolf asked. "Oh yes," said Leo, "I can go there." "Then you go," Wolfe looked at him carefully, "if there is any sign tonight, then you are too weak to be bullied for the guy who caused trouble first." Leo put his hand to the left side of his face. "Stop talking," said Mosca. "No, Leo, don't get me wrong. I mean. All the trouble because of your blood is because people never fight back; some people think they're timid, I think it's too civilized. They don't believe in violence .Just take tonight. If we get that guy outside and give him a good beating, it will help, even a little bit. If your people have their own country, thank you Terrorist Organizations. Terror and Violence are the greatest weapons. Organizations in every country use them and never underestimate their power. I am so surprised. After all the incidents. You still don't understand this. " Leo said slowly: "It's not that I'm afraid to go to Palestine, and I know it's my duty to go to Palestine under certain circumstances. But then I thought, it's too hard to get there. What I need now is joy, and I It can only be considered from this aspect. However, I am ashamed of such considerations. But I am going to leave here." "Don't put it off for too long," Wolff said. "These Germans are hard-wired. They're warlike. You see it every day." Leo went on, as if Bo heard. "As for the terror and violence, I don't believe it. My father was in the concentration camp with me. He was a German. My mother is a Jew. My father was a political prisoner and left before me." The muscle on the left side of Leo's cheek twitched again, and he put his hand over it to stop it.He died there, but before he died he educated me.He told me that one day I would be free and that the worst thing that could happen to me was that I would become like the man who kept us there.I still believe what he said.Although the situation is somewhat undeniable, I still believe him. " Wolfe shook his head. "I understand. I understand people like your father." His voice was emotionless. Helene and Mrs. Meyer delivered warm bacon sandwiches to everyone.Leo didn't want it. "I'm going to sleep," he said and left.He was heard walking into the next room, and the radio was tuned to two German stations playing soft, melodious string music. Mrs. Meyer walked over to Eddie.Pushed him playfully and said. "Stop dreaming." Eddie smiled, his handsome, delicate face drooping with sleep.When Hailian was kneeling by the electric stove, he looked at her through the glass in his hand, and thought: In the future, in this room, every piece of furniture will be very clean, as if no one has ever lived in it.He was always like this, always thinking about pictures of women he had never even gotten close to together in his mind. Wolfe chewed his sandwich. "It's ridiculous that people would think like that." He lowered his voice. "Those who managed the concentration camp where Leo stayed were probably ordinary people like you and me, just following orders. During the war, when I engaged in counterintelligence activities, I also captured some prisoners. Our The major always looked at his watch and said, 'By two o'clock, I'll have such and such information.' We got him." Wolfe took a cigar from Mosca and lit it. , "Before I did this job, I went back to the United States for a vacation and watched a few war movies. You know, those heroes were tortured and tortured, and they would rather die than submit a word." Wolfe recalled these, emotionally waving the smoke in his hand. "Of course, they won't say anything about what they did." He paused, looking intently at Mosca. "They are ashamed of being tortured. If you do something right with a man, he can't control himself." Mosb filled all the glasses, and everyone except Wolff was sleepy.Mrs. Meyer was bent over Eddie's lap, and Helene was lying on the couch against the wall opposite the bed. Wolff smiled slightly. "I have a trick. I always give them a hard time before arraigning them, like that joke about a newlywed couple. When the couple are alone, the husband hits his wife's mouth, and Said: 'This is nothing else, just to monitor what you do.' The same thought." He grinned in order to make everyone dissatisfied, and the dead white face was suddenly refreshed. "I know what you're thinking. It's a son of a bitch. But someone has to do the job. You can't win a war without that. Trust me, I don't have any sadistic interest in the movies , only it was necessary. Ah. I even got a medal for it." He was eager to be honest, "But of course we were never as rough as the Germans." Eddie yawned and said, "It's all interesting what you said, but I think I'm going to go downstairs and go back to the house." Wolff smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I think it's too late to give a speech." He let Eddie and Mrs. Meyer go first, finished his glass, and said to Mosca: "Go downstairs, I want to talk to you." They went downstairs to the street and got into Wolfe's jeep. "Eddie's thinking of castles in the sky," said Wolfe haughtily, with an air of contempt. "He just wanted to sleep," Mosca said. "Why do you carry a weapon with you?" Wolfe asked. Mosca shrugged and said, "I guess I'm used to it. Besides, the war is not long over." Wolff nodded. "I always carry a weapon when I go out at night." Another moment of silence.Mosca moved his body vigorously. Wolfe lights a cigar. "I want to talk to you alone, because I have a way of making us a lot of money. I think everyone in the possession has a little something to make. Now I have a lot of connections, such as Treasures for cigarettes or something. I can arrange some for you to do." "My God!" said Mosca impatiently, "I can't get that many cigarettes." Wolfe hesitated: Then he said: "You know, one day you may need a lot of money. If they catch Helene in your room, for example, you will be out of luck. You will be sent to Back to America." He held up his hand. "I know, you're going to move into a secret life, a lot of lads do. But you need money. Or, assuming it's an emergency and you have to take her out of Germany, you can get fake papers, but the price Expensive. And, wherever you go, or Scandinavia, or France, or anywhere else, the standard of living is high. Have you thought about that?" "No, never thought about it," Mosca said slowly. "Well, I have an idea, but I need help. That's why I came to you. I'm not a philanthropist. Are you interested?" "Go on," said Mosca. Wolfe stopped again and took a drag on his cigarette. "You know, the money we use is military certificates 1 and the black market operators are desperate to get it and resell it to the GIs for money orders. But, they're slow. We can take what we can All the military coupons that arrive are exchanged for money orders, the important thing is that we can't let people see that we are always in this business." "Is that so?" said Mosca. "Here's the situation. The German black market dealers seem to have gotten a good deal of military notes the last two weeks, and I've made a decent amount of money by converting them into money orders. By the way, I'm going to let you I will also join in. Now tell me my purpose. I was a little curious about this matter, so I started to ask around, and I heard a terrible legend. When the military coupons were shipped from the United States by sea, the ship stopped at Bremerhaven .While everything is strictly confidential, word got out. A box of military coupons is missing, worth more than a million dollars. The military keeps it under wraps because it makes them look paralyzed. What do you think about this? ?” Wolfe became excited as he told this story. "Over a million dollars," he repeated. Mosca, amused by the longing in Wolfe's voice, laughed. "It's a lot of money," he said. "Now for my method. The money may have been scattered all over the country, but there must be a group of people here who have quite a lot of money, and as long as we can find them, we'll be done. Go for the big fish." "How do we find this money and what do we do with it?" Mosca said. "Finding money is my business," Wolfe said. "But you gotta help me. It's not as hard as it sounds, and you don't forget I'm a man of training. I have a lot of connections, and I'll show you around and introduce you to those people , say you're a big shot at the base service store, and you're trying to sell cigarettes for three or four dollars a pack. They'll rush to buy them at that price. We'll throw out twenty or thirty packs like that, I Can get these cigarettes. Word will spread. At that time we said we had to sell five thousand at a time. It's a lot of money, we have to make up a story, if everything is well planned, someone will come to us , so we made a deal. They came with military coupons worth 20,000 yuan. We accepted it. They couldn't go to the police station, neither their police station nor our police station. They were completely fooled." Wall The husband stopped, took a last drag on his cigarette, and threw the butt into the middle of the street.Then he said softly, "It's hard work, wandering around town two or three nights a week, and the last move takes guts." "Real cops and thieves," Mosca said, and Wolff smiled.Mosca looked out into the dark street, beyond the ruins.In the distance a tram could be seen, with its yellow lights flashing, running slowly through the dark city, as if separated by a lake or a meadow. . Wolfe said slowly and seriously: "We have to prepare for our future. Sometimes I think my previous life was just a dream, and everything was blurred. Maybe you feel the same way. Now we have to prepare for our future." We're getting ready for real life, and it's going to be tough, really tough stuff. This is our last chance to make arrangements for ourselves." "Yes," said Mosca, "but it sounds like hell." Wolfe shook his head, "It may not work, but in the meantime, I will arrange some exchange transactions for you. No matter what, you will make thousands of dollars anyway. If we are lucky, even if we only go one With a little luck, we'd get fifteen or twenty thousand dollars. Maybe more." Mosca got out of the jeep as Wolff started the motor and watched him speed away.Looking up, Mosca saw Helene's black face reflected in the pane of the window.He waved to her, then walked into the building and ran upstairs.