"... to the daughter of the man who runs SMIPP, Enrico Mallin."
"What?"
"It stands for Sociedad Mercantil de Importacion de Productos Petroliferos. They import petroleum and petroleum products from the Howell Petroleum Company, which is owned by Frade's family."
"How did you learn this?"
"I've spent a good deal of time with the Duarte family, Herr Standartenf?hrer. One hears things."
"And Frade is marrying the daughter of this firm?"
"One of the things I heard this weekend, Herr Standartenf?hrer, was that Herr Duarte-rather emotionally-feels that since God has taken both his son and his brother-in-law, God is now making things right by giving the family a baby."
"You did not hear what I said a moment ago about young Frade joining his father, Hans. And from this moment on, you will not hear another word about it. If that becomes necessary, I want you to be outraged."
"Excuse me?"
"Let me try to explain. We have right now a situation in which they regard you with a certain fondness. We want to encourage that."
The waiter appeared at the table, interrupting Goltz.
"I think we should have one more," he said, nodding at the waiter, "and then think about dinner."
He waited for the waiter to leave.
"What I'm thinking is this, Hans. At some point in the future, you approach Herr Duarte and tell them you are not only disenchanted with Germany-"
He interrupted himself.
"The more I think of this, the more it seems to be a splendid solution to our problem," Goltz said.
"I'm afraid, Herr Standartenf?hrer, that I'm not following you."
"Even before something unfortunate happens to young Frade, you ap-proach Herr Duarte and tell him that you are disenchanted with Germany, that you are convinced Germany will lose the war, and that you wish to invest your family's money in Argentina. Naturally, this would have to be done in the great-est secrecy...."
"Herr Standartenf?hrer, the von Wachtstein family doesn't have any money to invest anywhere. And if we did, sending money out of Germany is consid-ered treason."
"And rightly so. Hence the reason for secrecy. It's all very credible," Goltz said. "The money you would invest here-in an estancia, or estancias, or to ac-quire the controlling interest in a trucking firm, for example-would be from the funds available to me for the Argentine operations I alluded to a moment be-fore. Someone like Herr Duarte would be able to keep such activities very quiet, and certainly no one would suspect the Anglo-Argentine Bank would be con-ducting secret operations on behalf of the German Reich!"
"I don't know what to say," Peter said.
"You have your choice between a simple 'Jawohl, Herr Standartenf?hrer,'" Goltz said, smiling broadly, obviously very pleased with himself, "or, if you agree, 'what a clever line of thought, Josef.' Either will suffice."
"It does seem like a brilliant idea, Herr Standartenf?hrer."
"Sometimes the best ideas"-Goltz snapped his fingers-"come from out of the blue like that," Goltz said. "Our F?hrer has often said that impulsive ac-tion is often better than anything else."
"Permission to speak, Herr Standartenf?hrer?"
"Permission granted, Major."
"The possibility must be considered, I respectfully suggest, Herr Standartenf?hrer, that the elimination of young Frade might cause Herr Duarte to dislike all Germans, including me."
"No, Hans.... No, don't you see, if you went to Duarte immediately and allied yourself against the Third Reich now, then when Frade is eliminated, and you are outraged, it will make it all the more credible that you wish to disasso-ciate yourself from Germany."
Peter nodded, thoughtfully, as if accepting Goltz's reasoning.
"Another thought," Goltz said. "What is your relationship with Frade? You must see him from time to time."