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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1960-08-25, Page 5TEMPLE OF THE GODS — This architectural masterpiece of an ancient culture is the 1`,000-yeer- eld Tales Temple, mighty remnant of Mexico's Totonac civilization. Excavated and restored, the towering stone temple is located. near Pc pantla on Mexico's East coast, The temple was the site of the esoladore Rain. Donee, an ancient Totonac reitglou,s ceremony oppeoling to the gods for rain. This Postman's Knock Was No Game 4. Complete Story by Leone Stewart Faa..Jad, 'The Nazis, 1. With Vancy Dress When Gunner Elfried .Schmidt returned from Christmas leave he had a severe shock, "You will ,report to the battery commander IxtunediatelY," the sergeant 01 •, the ,guard told him curtly. His heart working overtime, . Schmidt obeyed, Discipline was strict — annest savage.— in the Wehrmacht in eeati, and the fact '.that he was .summoned ae. per, emptorily. suggested .s e r i o u s. trouble — and Schmidt had a guilty conscience. His anxiety was heightened when he found his battery commander surround- ed by several officers. Schmidt snapped to attention. "Heil flitter!" he cried.. The battery commander, a cap- tain returned his Nazi salute and stared at Schmidt with interest, lie picked up a newspaper from his desk and pointed to an art- icle. "Does this concern you?" he asked, Schmidt glanced at the article, and quaked with fear, For that. article did concern him, It told a story which was utterly false, 'Mein Gott!" he thought... "Why did: I open my -mouth? Why did I tell that - reporter such tissue of lies?" He. felt like a trapped. animal. "That is so, Herr Hauptmann," he said huskily. Then the incredible happened. The attitude of his superior .of- licer changed. He leaned over, seized the bewildered Schmidt's hand, and shook it warmly, "But why, • my dear friend, have yott kept your great ech- ievement- a secret?" he exclaim- ed. "You, a brilliant engineer the confidant of our beloved Fuehrer himself' ..• ta serve as a hum'- ble soldier is completely ridicu- leus!". Gunner Schmidt . sway e d. These German officers and his battery commander actually be- lieved this report! He listened to the captain's 'final words. "Of course, this is the end of soldiering for you. From now on you will be excused all mili- tary duties,. will pursue your en- gineering experiments and do exactly as you wish. Germany has need of men such as you,. Heil. Hitler!" It was the start of a new and remarkably pleasant life for Schmidt. From being an ordinary soldier he was now a, person of importance- Not for him the fatigues„ the drill, the eternal parades_ He was treated with respect. And he Let it be. known that he had many confie dential telephone conversations with the Fuehrert Awed by such • knowledge, high-ranking officers saluted- him deferentially. But what was the story behind this colossal bluff? Although only a humble 'workman), Elfried Schmidt had always had great ideas. Above all,.. he. wanted to impress his neighbours in his lit- tie native town. near Vienna. A clever draughtsman, he made a. blue-print of an engine which he, asserted would be the fastest ever known., Then • he faked letters which apparently proved. that. his invention hadi been enthusiastically accepted by the State and would go into pros, duction immediately. He faked a letter from HitIet.. This said that in gratitude for his wonderful invention he had a'warded Elfried. Schmidt a high honour, and ordered him to ree port at the' Chancellery. Schmidt shoWed the letter to all his, icy. Then she crossed the. 'pliOn.e. "A. matter for the -police, I thine," she said quietly. He sprang across the room, grabbing the hand that was reaching for the receiver, "Where .are my letters9 ' he add- ed. She . tried to pull away from him.. But his hands. came UP and feetened sound her neck, It was soft and smooth. A red haze be- gan to blur his vision. don't, the letters are..." But his mind didn't register what she was saying. Be was. suddenly bemused With the pow. er he had over her. She was still. trying to tell him something. trying to speak, but his fingers went on .squeezing and squeez- ing , . There wasn't a sound in the room. Harsh light poured down on. Veronica's agonized face.. Basil's hands were hot inside the thick leather gloves He stopped pressing, He released his, hold on Veron- ica and she slipped to the floor her blonde hair streaming across, her face, half - concealing her glazed eyes, He straightened up, his heart thudding wildly. He hadn't meant to kill her, It was an ac- cident. He. had only come for the letters. But why should.: any- one suspect him? Veronica had a dozen or more men friends. Any one of them could have murder- ed her, • He left by the fire escape, got into his car, and drove quickly home. With his wife away no one need ever know that he'd been out this evening. Towards morning he fell into a fitful doze, and it was only the constant knocking et the door that jerked him awake. The knock came again, He pulled. on a dressing gown and went to answer it. Two men stood on the step. "Sorry to bother you, sir. I'm Detective-Inspector Bond and this is my assistant, I wonder if we might have a word with you?" Basil looked surprised as he. led the way into the sitting-room. "Decided to take the day off," he said; running a•• hand through hie tousled hair. "My birthday, you kriow."' "Then allow me to wish you many happy returns of the' day, sir, the Inspector said smoothly. come straight to the point. "The matter concerns Veronica Elton. I believe you knew her." "Veronica Elton?' Oh, yes; of csoolUnrese. typing ae fog? (l, She moo 414 d iaBroyn din thUerin. enda. t. I"tWeeoriftao trinnecid list of names and addresses. We're paying all thoee mentioned a visit in the hope that they may be able to• help us. You see, sir, Veronica Elton was found early this morning by the Bat cleaner, She had been strangled." Basil registered Just the right degree of Shocked: incredulity. "When did You last See MO Elton' pt it Basilt a hand to his heed, "Some weeks ago, I suppose K must have been. She typed a report for me and I went round to her fiat to pick it up." "You didn't see her last night?" "NO. Definitely not!" "I see.'" The Inspeeter nodded. "Then that's all for a :. But it you do think of anything later- that might be of help to us, you'll. get in touch, won't you?" Basil led the way into the hall, It was all going very neatly, The police hadn't a thing on him As they reached the front door there came a knock. Basil Opened. it to see the postman carrying a small fiat parcel. The Inspecter stepped forward. "A birthday present, I expect," he said. hold It, sir, while you sign for It." Basil's hands were clammy as he signed the slip and the Peet- man walked away, He had recoge nized the handwriting. "This parcel is from Miss Veronica Elton, sir," Inspectors Bond spoke quietly. "Her nanie and address are on the back." "It's probably one of those re- ports she was typing for me," Basil said, 'Would you mind opening it, sir?" The Inspector handed the parry eel to Basil and stood watching as he nervously tore off the stri ribbon slid to the floor.n string. A bundle of letters tied with blue There was a note and the Inspec- tor picked it up and read aloud: "Happy birthday, darling. know you'll be coming to my fiat to-night to find these letters, but you'll be disappointed. I'm put- ting them in the post this after- noon. I always meant to reteln them and I thought they'd make a nice birthday present. It means we have known and loved each other just one year. Good-bye, Basil, darling ... Veronica." Inspector Bond looked up. "A, present from the dead, eh, sir?'4 — Freon "Tit-Bits". DEAD HONORS — Seldom seen Nazi decorations make a brief appearance at the funeral of Albert. Kesselring, in Bad Weisee, West Germany.. He was big brass during the war. friends, and then jauntily set off /or Berlin. But of course he never set. toot in the Chancel- lery. On his return he Was greeted like a conquering nom Ho told amezieg stories of the magnifi- cent reception he had received from Adolf, even said that Hit- ler had given him his secret telephone number. On the strength of these lies. Schmidt became a tool celeb- rity, Prominent people were proud to make his acquaintance. Then he had another brain- wave. He couldn't possibly go arouecl in overalls or in his cheap suit, He designed a, magnificent uni- form bearing the rank badges of a major and the type of swastika badge which only the top Nazis affected. To complete the pic- ture he draped himeelf with a silver cord. "An honour bestowed by the Fuehrer," he explained airily. The amazing part is that he was never challenged, believing that silver cord meant something significant, swaggering Wehr- rnaeht officers greeted him as a colleague. Of course, it couldn't have happened elsewhere. But Germany and Austria were uni- form crazy and Schmidt was a resplendent figure, To his credit,. however, his deception was not entirely a matter of self-aggrandizement. Strangely enough, it did a lot of good. For Elfried Schmidt was no Nazi. By making use of his assumed. rank and arrogance he was able to rescue many in- nocent folk from prison — and worse. For several months he had a winderful time. Then the blow fell. The military authorities knew nothing of the life Schmidt was leading.. Austria was part of the Third Reich, and. Elfried was called up for the Wehrmacht. He had one nagging fear. Would the authorities discover his imposture? If so, he knew that his fate would be unpleas- ant indeed. His crime was a heinous one. Indirectly he had insulted the Fuehrer himself. No wonder that he was in a state of blue funk when his bat- tery commander showed him that newspaper report. But why had Elfried Schmidt told his extraordinary story to a re- porter?' Ta show how clever he was? Nobody knows. Yet —_ and he could scarcely believe his luck — everything was soon all. right again. He resolved to' exploit his. Nazi masters to the full, No more barrack rooms for, him! He hired a handsome apartment and, every morning rrierched'into the camp after a tefsurely breakfast. Al- though he still wore his private's uniform it was embellished with the silver cord of honour. This was: the battery commander's order. He also laid down that Schmidt should be paid the com- pliments due to an. 'officer, of high rank. When he arrived the guard solemnly presented arms. EVerything went very pleas- antly for some weeks., Then El- fried Schmidt had another shock. He was asked by the. German Secret Service to give his opin- ion of some enemy aeroplane en- gines which had come into its. possession. Anxiously he ex- plained that he was a railway specialist, he know nothing about 'planes. Schmidt became an even more important figure than ever. He decided that such importance deserved a uniform — and again designed his own. It was in pure comic opera style — but it delighted his chief. So much so that he grant- ed Schmidt the use of a staff car and a chauffeur. Schmidt felt that he had really ,arrived. But it couldn't go on. For some reason people grew sus- picious. Schmidt was arrested and accused. of being a spy — which he certainly wasn't. He tried to bluff, threatened to telephone his friend Hitler on the secret line. Unfortunately, however, that story had been in- vestigated, and its falsity reveal- ed. The game was well and truly up. And to the Nazis, living in a mesh of intrigue, there could. be only one reason for Schmidt's pose. It was his daring method of ferreting out secrets for an enemy power. Yet Schmidt had the last laugh — or almost. It would never do, thought the worried authorities, to let the whole world know how easily they had been deceived — and by an or- dinary workman. They just couldn't. face the• ridicule which was certain to follow. And so Elfried Schmidt was merely sentenced to a short term of imprisonment. SAD OLD DAYS — It looks like twenty years ago ITC RUA Gen Marie as Hermann Goering and Josef' Goebbele talk together itt Hamburg. Hitler's henchmen are played by Werner Bietrarre left, and Willi Krause for the new film, "Trial by Treason.' Bistram is a local hotel receptionist picked' for the port liectailSO of his remarkable resemblance to Goering, this fiat Veronica had those let- ters he had written. It wouldn't take him long to find, them, If only he could be alone here for just one hour. Veronica untwined her slender legs and moved closer to him on the settee, "And where does your wife think you are this evening?" "Look Veronica" he turned earnestly to her, "there's no point in any of this, Let me have those letters back, pay you if you like." She drew away from hint, frowning. "I don't need your money. I like you for yourself alone, you know that. We met almost exactly one year ago. He- member? It was your birthday. The restaurant was crowded so you shared my table and we talked," He stood up, "Veronica, for the last time — my letters, please." She' smiled and curled herself up provocatively on the settee. "Darling, I don't know where they are just at the moment. After all —" she opened her eyes wide -- "they are all I have left to remember you by. Twelve beautiful letters, one for every month we've known each other." The 'phone rang and she went to answer it. Hungrily he glanced round the room. again. That bureau in the corner. Was that where she kept the letters? Or that alcove cupboard by the fireplace, Perhaps they were hid- den in there. He heard her talking on the 'phone. "No, not tomorrow even- ing, I'm afraid. I already have a date. Another time, then," Basil got up and opened the door and went out. He took the lift to the ground floor, To-mor- row evening she would be out. Just one hour alone in that flat and he'd find those letters. He had to find. them. Basil was very thankful he had kept the key Veronica had given him some time ago. It was eight o'clock the next evening when he let himself into her flat, He moved silently over the carpeted floor towards the small bureau. The drawers weren't locked. But after a three-minute search they yielded nothing. He tried the cupboard alcove, even the cocktail cabinet. He looked behind the pictures, under the carpet, beneath chair cushions. He flung cushions aside, turned over the settee, and groped into the tapestry. When the light snapped on be- hind him, he swung round, feel- ing: like a trapped animal, Veronica was. standing there, a fur cape over her evening gown. She closed the door 'and stood. looking at him, her expression The telephone shook in Basil Austin's hand. His wife was, in the sitting-room, the door partly open. She had the radio on, but Veronica's voice at the other end of the line was Ibud and demand- ing, "Basil, I'm warning you. If you stand me up again I'll do some- thing drastic. I could easily come round and see your wife. I'M sure she'd be very interested. in what I have to tell her!" "I'll call you," he said as sweat broke out on his forehead. "To- morrow." He replaced the re- ceiver and steadied. himself be- fore walking into the sitting- room. For a time' Veronica Elton had thrilled and excited him, made him feel ten years younger, Now she was a menace. The party was over but she wouldn't call the whole thing off. Mary put aside her sewing as he entered the room and went over to him. "You shoudret let the firm have your private 'phone number. It's not fair. Af- ter a long day at the office you don't want to be pestered." She sat on the arm of his chair, "Darling, I feel so awful about going away. It'll only be for a few days, I know, but I won't even be here for your birthday." He squeezed her hand. She hadn't heard any of that conver- sation, thank goodness. "What shalt I buy -you as a birthday presnt, Basil?" Mary stroked his hair. "I can afford Something really nice now. Uncle Roger's will is going to make all the difference to us. We'll be able to spend our holidays abroad and buy a new car. Isn't it all excit- ing?" It was, in a way. Basil had his own plans for the legacy his wife was about to inherit. He wanted to start up in business on his own, and that ten thous- and pounds would be very use- ful. Which was why he had to cut Veronica out of his life, had to oil the wheels• of his marriage and keep Mary contented. If she ever discovered there was an- other woman she'd leave him, taking her fortune with her. * e * Veronica sipped her cocktail and stared at. Basil over the rim of the glass. "I thought you loved me. You said so enough times in your letters. But now the breeze is a little cool, isn't it, darling?" "Veronica," he said, wearily, "It isn't that I'm a married man," He glanced round the well- furnished room, Somewhere in World's Forst Floating Spa When the new 38S000-ton pas- seriger beet, Windsor' Castle, leaves Southerripton on her mai- den voyage to Cape Town in August, she will be the world's first floating spa. Besides benefiting from sea breezes and sunshine, passen- gers will be able to obtain spe- dented treatment for a tutus bet of COmplaints. There will be physiotherapy and hydrotherapy departments, staffed by experts, in addition to the usual` medical facilities. The doctor iii charge will de- operate with passengers' decterd to ensure that where necessary' a particular treatteent can be continued during' the voyage, "It is felt: that the Windsor Castle spa will make a treinetie date contribution to good health in these days of tee el and strain' Said a Union Castle 1p.oltoartiait, "'rho accent is on Peeirentien teethes' than elite over Sudand, Calif Looteei stole tunny heteloonit while she lerititliele eisetei feyit4 talvfooe posorkil Pr° 044, A Womali'fi ideal Men is Otte clever' enough to Make motley' arid foalisli enough to Vend it, i lETEEN YEARS LATER --.. Sttidefite picket the United Natuontt eliding in New York. They'are deneseristrcitting for tieciear 6eili ban on the fifteenth tertiiivereary Of the Hieoeltitiiii blast. GUARDING THE HOMESTEAD -- Brothers Toni, left, and Pie tee Brakirtheltri guoed the rem Of their parents $55,- 000 home with rifle and pistol. The ,house was conipletely giesthdyet1 blotto witk 11 others when a brush fire swept teesteetie e.Set.At..