Hanging on

all Frenchmen are as uncommitted in this war as those in St. Ignatius. I would understand if you wished to search for partisans."
        "But you have no partisans here, do you?" Rotenhausen asked, taking a few short steps from the stone fireplace, halving the distance between them.
        "This is chiefly a religious community," Kelly said. Remembering how convincing Maurice could be when he was lying, Kelly clutched at his heart. "God forbid that the Holy Church ever take sides in an earthly conflict of this sort."
        Rotenhausen smiled, stuck his pipe between his teeth again. He spoke around the slender stem. "You call this village St. Ignatius?"
        "Yes, sir," Kelly said.
        "And how many people live here, did you say?"
        Beckmann sat on the sofa, watching, face expressionless.
        Major Kelly could not see the purpose in Rotenhausen's asking questions to which he already had the answers. But he responded anyway. "Less than two hundred souls, sir."
        "And the town is built around a convent of some sort?" Rotenhausen asked, smiling and nodding encouragingly.
        He did not look like a man who would lead a backwoods French priest into a deadly admission and then blow his head off with four shots from a Luger. Nevertheless, he must be dealt with cautiously.
        "The convent was here first," Kelly said, cautiously. "The deaf came to be taught. Then the mute. Then deaf-mutes. Other sisterhoods established nunneries here to help with the work. The church was built. Then the store. A few of the laity moved in, built homes, seeking the calm and peacefulness of a religious community." Kelly felt that his knees were melting. In a minute he was going to be writhing helplessly on the floor.
        Rotenhausen took his pipe from his mouth and thrust it at Major Kelly. "To tell you the truth, Father, I would like to search your village."
        Kelly almost swayed, almost passed out.
        "However," the general continued, "I believe it would be a waste of time and effort. My men are weary, Father Picard. And they will soon be expected to fight the Allies. They need what rest they can get." He put the pipe in his mouth and spoke around it. "Furthermore, the Reich is currently in no position to make an enemy of the Catholic Church. If we were to pry through nunneries and church schools looking for partisans, we would only help to force Rome into taking sides, and we would buy even more bad publicity for the German people."
        Behind Rotenhausen, Standartenführer Beckmann had gotten to his feet. Lantern light caught the polish on his leather belt, glittered in the death's head insignia on his cap and shoulders. He was an evil, black Frankenstein, his white face slightly twisted, half cloaked in shadows.
        Kelly felt sure that Beckmann was going to disagree with the general. He was going to say the search should be held. Then everyone would die. Bang. Bang, bang, bang. The end.
        But that was not what Beckmann had in mind. "Perhaps General Rotenhausen has given you the impression that Germany has, in the past, done the wrong thing and that, as a consequence, our country now suffers from a poor image in the rest of the world. I must set you straight, Father. Germany follows the dictates of the Führer, and it makes no mistakes." He smiled at Rotenhausen. "There is no need to search St. Ignatius, because the Catholic Church is no enemy of the Reich. Oh, at times, a few of your bishops have acted unwisely. But for the most part, you people have remained neutral. Why, even Himmler is of your faith, Father. Did you know?"
        "I didn't know," Kelly murmured.
        Standartenführer Beckmann's voice rose as he spoke. "Whether or not a search of St. Ignatius would generate bad publicity for the Reich is purely academic. The main reason we need not hold a search is that-you are all Catholics here. Christians. And that means you are not Jews." Beckmann's voice had taken on a strange, chilling urgency. His face was strained, his eyes wild. "The Jews are Germany's only enemies, Father Picard. The Jews, Mischlingen, and subhumans are the threat to the race's perfection. When the world is Judenrein, then this war will end, and everyone will see that the Führer was correct!" He was breathing heavily now. "Free of Jews! How good the world will then be! And your great church recognizes this, Father Picard. It remains neutral. It is no ally of the Reich, but