CHAPTER TWELVE
_The Living Dead_
The Russian Staff car reminded Dawson of a Ford. As a matter of fact, hewas pretty sure that it was a Yank Ford made under license in a Sovietfactory. However, he didn't let his thoughts dwell on the car too long.For one thing, the uniformed driver seemed to be attempting to smashevery existing speed record. And for another thing, the instant Freddyand he had climbed down out of the Wellington things had happened likeexploding firecrackers.
Colonel General Vladimir had stepped forward, introduced himself, andgreeted them warmly. Then almost before they could return the greeting,the Russian had steered them right by the other officials and into theRussian-made Ford. At a word from the Colonel General, the uniformedchauffeur had shifted gears, and away they had gone.
At first, Dawson hadn't minded these strange actions very much becausethe car roared through the heart of Moscow and he was able to get hisfirst view of the Kremlin, and Red Square. But that had been half anhour previously, and by now the car was approaching empty country thatheld no interest or attraction for him. And so he began to wonder inearnest why this sudden mysterious move, and also why the ColonelGeneral, seated between Freddy and him on the back seat, was content tostare out through the windshield in stony silence.
Suddenly, though, as the car spun around the corner of some woods andonto a long straight road, the Russian official seemed to let go alittle sigh of relief, and relaxed slightly. He barked an order in hisnative tongue to the driver, and immediately the speed of the car wasreduced by a good third. The Colonel General looked at Dave and Freddyeach in turn, and smiled pleasantly.
"Your heads are crammed full of questions?" he said with a chuckle. "Isit not so?"
"Well, I was wondering just where the fire was," Dawson replied. "Imean, of course, why all the hurry?"
"Yes, quite," Freddy Farmer murmured. "Has something unexpectedhappened, Colonel General?"
"That is the reason for the haste," the Russian replied with a littlegesture. "So that the unexpected would _not_ happen, you see? In theSoviet we do not take unnecessary chances. It is stupid to do suchthings. So when you arrive we do not give ears the chance to hear much,or eyes the chance to see much. I would swear that there is not oneGestapo secret agent in all of Moscow, but I am not content with just_believing_ so. All men can be wrong. So I take no chances, in case I amwrong. This mission you are on means much to Russia. There is no tellinghow much it will mean. So it is only natural that we do all in our powerto give you the aid you need, and to protect you as long as we can. Yourpardon one moment, please."
The Colonel General leaned forward and rapped out some obvious orders tothe driver. The man at the wheel nodded his head to show that he hadheard and understood. Then the Russian sat back on the seat again, andaddressed himself to the two boys.
"Tomorrow, I am afraid," he said, with an odd little half-smile, "therewill be harsh things said about Russia by her allies. Your England andyour United States will not be pleased to learn that you two died whileunder our care."
"Huh?" Dawson gulped out as the other paused, and seemed waiting. "Imean, what did you say, Colonel General? Something about Farmer and megetting killed?"
"Exactly," the other nodded with the odd little smile still on his lips."Burned alive in an automobile wreck. Fortunately, though, I will manageto escape with my life. I will be most brokenhearted when I give out thestatement to the representatives of the Foreign Press in Moscow. Andthere will be an expression of deep sorrow from Premier Joseph Stalin,too. It will, indeed, be a sad affair, that meeting with the presstomorrow."
The Russian lapsed into sudden silence again, and Dawson wasn't surewhether he should take it just as a cockeyed dream, or jump out of thecar in case the world had actually gone upside down all of a sudden. Hedid neither, of course. Instead he shot a quick hard side glance at theRussian, and caught the faint grin that tugged at the corners of theofficer's mouth. Then he found himself looking straight into a pair oftwinkling black eyes.
"I am what you call in America a mad Russian, eh, Captain Dawson," theColonel General suddenly boomed out. "Forgive me, but it is like me tosay strange things and watch people's faces. However, it is a littletrue. You and your gallant comrade are to die in a burning automobilewreck. That is, as far as the rest of the world is concerned. It is likethis. Our enemies know more about this mission of yours than we wouldlike them to know. Twice they have done what they could to remove youand your friend, Captain Farmer. Oh, yes. I know about that train affairin Scotland. Since then Air Vice-Marshal Leman has communicated withSoviet Intelligence. And your recent air battle was no accident,either."
"And but for the very welcome arrival of your planes, it might haveended the wrong way, too!" Dave spoke up quickly.
Colonel General Vladimir nodded, and beamed his thanks.
"A compliment twice over, coming from a war pilot of your record,Captain Dawson," he said gravely. "Ah, yes! Once many people laughed atthe mention of Soviet planes, and Soviet pilots. But they are notlaughing any more. Particularly the Nazi Luftwaffe. But, as I wassaying, twice the Nazis have tried to remove you, and have failed. Theyknow that you have reached Moscow. Your next destination perhaps theyknow, and perhaps they don't. However, we will attempt to cause them tolose interest in you both. Lose interest because they believe you areboth dead. The results of crude Soviet bungling, they will no doubtscream over their propaganda radios. But let them! It does not matter ifit all helps you to complete your delicate mission successfully."
The Russian paused, nodded for emphasis, and lapsed into silence again.Freddy Farmer didn't like that, and did something about it.
"Just how are you to arrange for us to burn up in a car wreck, ColonelGeneral?" he asked bluntly.
The Russian shrugged, and gestured with both of his hands, palms upward.
"That will be very simple," he said. Then, nodding ahead, he continued,"In a few moments, now. Just around that turn you see up ahead. Therewill be a car waiting for us, just off the road. You will change to it,and this one will be driven into a tree so that it will be suitablywrecked, and then touched off with a match. This driver will thencontinue on with you in the hidden car, and leave me to explain thingsto the first car that passes by."
"I see," Dawson grunted after a moment's thought. "Three of us to burnup, eh? But what about three fire-charred bodies in the wreckage, sothere'll be sure to be no questions asked?"
"Also simple," the Russian replied in a grim voice. "Three Nazis willtake your places. Three dead ones. They were shot yesterday. They servedtheir mad Fuehrer in life, so they will serve our cause in death. Well,we approach the point where we part for a few hours. I will see youagain tomorrow, or the next day."
"Next day?" Dawson echoed sharply. "Where? What do you mean by thatremark, Colonel General?"
"For two days it is best for you to remain dead, and safely hidden," theRussian officer explained. "The English Agent Jones has not yetcompleted even a third of his long journey. It is best for you all toarrive at Urbakh the same day. To arrive ahead of him, and be forced towait around for his arrival, might not be good. So you will rest for afew days in our care. I do not think that you will find it toounpleasant. Well, we are almost there."
There were a whole lot more questions that Dave wanted to ask, but theColonel General sort of gave the impression that the question periodwas over. Besides, the car was cutting around the turn in the road andslowing down toward a full stop. So Dave held his tongue, and left hisquestions hanging in his brain. He looked ahead but did not see anysecond car. That is, for a moment or two he didn't see one. Butsuddenly, as the Russian Ford came abreast of a narrow dirt road leadingoff through the woods, there he spotted the second car pulled well upunder the trees.
When their car came to a final halt, the Colonel General was out of itin a flash and turning around to smile and motion for them to follow.
"Come with me," he said. "He will take care of everything. He used tosmash cars for a liv
ing before the war, like the dare-devils in yourHollywood. It will be amusing to watch him."
It wasn't particularly amusing to Dawson and Farmer so much as it wasfascinatingly gruesome. The Russian chauffeur hauled three dead Nazisout of the car hidden under the trees and placed two of them in the rearseat of the Ford. The third he wedged in behind the wheel. Then,squeezing in on top of the dead German, he got the Ford tearing along athigh speed down the road. The instant the car was going full out hegave the wheel a sharp twist, and seemed virtually to shoot his body upout from behind the wheel. He landed lightly on his feet on the roadlike a highly trained acrobat, and the Russian Ford went tearing atterrific speed straight into a couple of giant tree trunks.
Colonel General Vladimir said that they were to touch a match to thewreck, but a single split second after the Ford struck the tree trunksit became instantly evident that no match would be needed. A great globof smoke belched up from under the crumpled engine hood, and wasfollowed by a tongue of hissing orange-red flame. And by the time Dawsoncould blink the car was completely enveloped in flame.
"And so that is finished," he suddenly heard the Colonel General breakthrough his thoughts. "Now, into this car, please. There is no time toloiter here. You must be on your way. A pleasant journey, Captains. Andwe will meet again tomorrow, or the next day. Do not be alarmed. I wouldtrust him as I would trust my own son--if I had but been blessed withone."
Even as the Russian talked he guided Dawson and Freddy Farmer into therear seat of the half hidden car, and then stepped back to allow thedriver to get in behind the wheel. And no sooner had the driver settledhimself than he kicked the engine into life, shifted gears, and startedoff. Both Dawson and Farmer glanced back at the Colonel General, but theRussian seemed no longer aware of their existence. He was busy tearingshreds of cloth from his uniform, and smearing rich Russian soil on hisface and hands. And then he faded from view around a bend in the woodedroad. Dawson turned to the side and looked into Freddy Farmer'ssaucer-sized eyes.
"Sweet tripe!" he grunted. "In this neck of the woods they sure dothings fast, and let you find out later, don't they?"
"Not half, they don't!" Freddy exclaimed with a bewildered shake of hishead. "Well, love a duck! What a bloke that Colonel General is! Why, Ihadn't half begun to ask questions. Where in the world is he going tohide us out, I'd like to know?"
"Me, too!" Dawson said with a grim nod, and leaned toward the driver'sseat. "Where are we headed, driver?" he called out.
The Russian chauffeur slowed up a little and turned to give them a blanksmile and a blanker look. Then he seemed to guess the meaning ofDawson's question, and opened and shut the fingers of one upraised handthree times. Then he smiled and nodded and returned his attention todriving. Dawson made sounds in his throat and sank back on the seat.
"And that helps a lot, I don't think!" he growled. "No speak our lingo.But I guess he guessed the question, and was telling us we'll get therein fifteen minutes, or fifteen hours, or maybe fifteen years. Butthere's nothing we can do about it, anyway. And how do you like being adead man, pal?"
The English youth glanced up at the sky that seemed to hold the hint ofcoming winter, and shuddered slightly.
"In this country I don't fancy it a bit," he said. "Not even a littlebit. But it is a clever trick by the Russians. And I wish I could hearthe Nazi propaganda chaps scream about it over the radio. It'll almostmake us famous, you know."
"I'll take vanilla, thank you!" Dawson grunted, and stared at thewinding road ahead. "After, and if, we finish this job, I hope I can geta few days off to really see Moscow, and these parts around here. Butright now I want to keep going, and get the darn thing cleaned up. Twodays, he said? Not so good. A lot of things can happen in two days."
"Well, as you said, there's nothing we can do about it," Freddy Farmersaid with a shrug. "So that's that. Just the same, I'd like to know whatthat chauffeur chap meant by his crazy hand signals."
Dawson didn't bother trying to answer that question, and Freddy Farmerdidn't bother to repeat it. Both youths simply lapsed into broodingsilence, and absently stared at the winding road that seemed to go onwinding forever through endless woods. However, at the end of tenminutes they came out of the woods and onto a road leading to a smallpeasant village. And at the end of exactly fifteen minutes from the timeof the chauffeur's finger signals, the car was halted in front of arough two-story wooden house. The chauffeur got out, bowed to them, andmotioned for them to get out too. They did, and followed him up thethree steps to the front door of the house.
The chauffeur knocked on the door, and he had no more than taken hisknuckles away than it was opened and they saw a uniformed figure justinside the doorway. The chauffeur saluted smartly, rattled somethingoff in his native tongue, and then hurried past Dawson and Farmer, anddown the steps to the car. In less than nothing flat he had the carrolling at a fast clip off up the village street. Dave and Freddyglanced at each other and mutually wondered, what next?
They didn't have to wait long. The dimly outlined uniformed figure justinside the doorway spoke to them in a low, rich voice.
"Come in, please, Captains Dawson and Farmer. I am happy that you havearrived safely in Russia. And I am honored to be able to share with youthe adventures that lie ahead. Come in, please."
A crazy conglomeration of mixed thoughts and emotions raced throughDawson as he stepped through the door and into a very shadowy hallway.Freddy Farmer followed right at his heels, and the sudden change oflight threw the eyes of both out of focus for a few seconds. But whenthey were able to see clearly again, they found themselves looking at avery young and very good-looking Russian Senior Lieutenant ofIntelligence.
Yet very good-looking was not quite correct. Very pretty would have beena little better, because, like bombs exploding in their heads, theyboth realized in the same instant that the Senior Lieutenant was a_girl_ of just about their own age! That bit of truth just about toppedoff all of the high speed action they'd witnessed since arriving inRussia, and for a long minute both were too stunned to do anything butsalute smartly and just stand there practically gaping at the girl. Sheglanced from one to the other, then gave a little low laugh.
"So you are surprised, eh?" she echoed. "Well, there are a lot of womenlike me fighting for Russia. But let me introduce myself. I am SeniorLieutenant Nasha Petrovski, of Soviet Intelligence. Until ColonelGeneral Vladimir says it is time to leave for Urbakh, you are honoredguests of my mother and myself. And later we will be comrades in armsfor a great and worthy cause. But I keep you standing here while Ichatter. Come and meet my mother. And then I will show you to the roomthat has been made ready for you. This way, please, Captains."
And like a couple of dumbfounded wooden Indians, Dave Dawson and FreddyFarmer followed her into the ground floor parlor.