“A sus órdenes, mi Coronel.”
“El Coronel Jorge Guillermo Frade, uncle to the late Capitán Duarte, has arranged for you to be put up at the Frade family guest house. Unfortunately he had pressing business at his estancia, and could not be here today. Señora de Duarte telephoned me this morning to ask me to take you to the guest house. I was of course honored to be of service. May I do that now?”
“You’re very gracious, mi Coronel,” Peter said, and then spoke what came into his mind: “My luggage? It’s still aboard the ship.”
“It has been taken to the Avenida Libertador house,” Sahovaler said. “It is no problem.”
Well, in that case, I suppose that nobody closely examined my luggage and found the money.
“May I have a minute to speak with el Coronel Grüner, mi Coronel?”
“Of course.”
Grüner was standing with Gradny-Sawz. Grüner and Sahovaler knew each other, while Gradny-Sawz had to be introduced. Peter explained that Sahovaler had offered to drive him to the guest house. The announcement visibly pleased Gradny-Sawz.
“I will be in touch, Hauptmann von Wachtstein,” Gradny-Sawz said. “If not sooner, within a day or two.”
“Thank you,” Peter replied.
Sahovaler had an open Mercedes sedan—an Army car—waiting outside. The driver was wearing a Husares uniform, complete to bearskin hat. They rode regally from Avenida Alvear to Avenida Libertador. On the way, Coronel Sahovaler told Hauptmann von Wachtstein that he was sure el Coronel Frade would be in touch with him very shortly to make sure
he was not left alone in the Guest House.
[TWO]
Coronel Sahovaler was wrong. Since el Coronel Jorge Guillermo Frade had no intention whatever of participating in the nonsense on the pier, or to put on a hot dress uniform to march through horse droppings on the streets of Buenos Aires in the heat of summer, and since Cletus had “business” in Punta del Este—Frade hoped this was nothing more dangerous than meeting young women in brief bathing costumes—he had indeed found pressing business at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo.
It happened to be legitimate. He was entertaining overnight el Coronel Ricardo López, commander of the 2nd Regiment of Infantry. Wattersly had informed Frade that when he and Kleber talked with him, they were unable to move him off the fence. Wattersly suggested that Frade talk to him himself. Under the circumstances, he had had no choice but to go along.
He would entertain López royally. And if there seemed to be an opportunity, he would reason with him himself. If that failed, the 2nd Regiment of Infantry would have to be placed in the Against column. There were only two columns, For and Against. If the 2nd Infantry went in the Against column, it would have to be neutralized.
He also completely forgot that he had promised his sister to arrange to put up the German officer at the Guest House. Knowing her brother’s tendency to let promises slip his mind, Señora Beatrice de Duarte had called the Guest House and checked. When it turned out he had indeed forgotten, she asked Señora Pellano to take very good care of the young German officer who brought Dear Jorge back to Argentina. Then she called el Coronel Sahovaler to make sure he had a ride.
[THREE]
Customs Shed
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2135 13 December 1942
The plan to smuggle the walkie-talkies past customs was Tony’s. It was novel, simple, and it worked:
“If you never saw one of these before,” Tony said, “the odds are that nobody here has.”
“So?”
“We’ll tell them they are portable radios that don’t work.”
“You’ve lost me.”
“We don’t try to hide them. We make believe we took them over there to listen to music on the beach.”
Clete could think of no better way to bring the radios into Argentina. Besides, even if the ruse didn’t work and they confiscated the radios, it would divert attention from the “wooden” boxes loaded with straw chickens, ducks, and fish.
They pried the AN/PRC-6 MOTOROLA CORP. CHICAGO, ILL. labels from the walkie-talkies; then they each put one of them on clear display in their luggage.
The customs officer was fascinated with the radios, and very sympathetic. After he put a radio to his ear and heard only a hiss, he offered the professional opinion that they probably dropped them, or else got them wet on the beach.