Free Johnnie by Dorothy B. Hughes Page A

“It cannot be!” He was hoarse. His eyes were like broken glass now.
    “Do any of you have them?”
    Johnnie shook his head along with the rest of them.
    Rudolph asked, “What papers?”
    “Your passports. Your identifications.”
    “But I have them,” Rudolph began.
    “Idiot!” Dorp raged. “You have the ones to take you from this country to Europe. You do not yet have the ones to take you from Switzerland to Rudamia. The true ones.” His eyes opened hopefully. “Or do you?”
    “I have never seen them and you know it.” He flounced to the throne chair and extracted from his pocket the long cigarette holder. “You know very well I haven’t seen them. You told me you’d give them to me when I boarded the Clipper.”
    “Theo has lost them,” Dorp repeated with menace. “I keep them on me until we go to the party. Then I think it is not wise I carry them there. They do not look so well in the full dress suit. Perhaps Ferenz will grow snoopy. He is so afraid we do something outside the law, something at which we get caught. He would not like doctored papers such as Rudolph must use to enter his country. So the last thing in the car I pass them to Theo. He has big military pockets to keep them safe. And Ferenz does not like Theo.” His little eyes narrowed. “Because Theo does not like Ferenz.” He shrugged. “Does he put them into the inner pocket as anyone with the brains of a peahen would do?”
    Johnnie had the papers! He realized it suddenly. This didn’t seem exactly the time to disclose that fact. Besides Trudy had been insistent he keep mum. More than insistent. She’d threatened him. He kept his mouth shut. Despite everything he liked Trudy a lot better than this passel of thieves. He didn’t like Dorp at all.
    “No!” roared Dorp. He slapped his fat thigh and winced. “He puts them in his coat pocket where when he leans over to make the bow they fall out.”
    “They couldn’t have fallen out,” Theo blubbered. “I told you, Herr Dorp. The envelope went way deep.”
    “Someone picked his pocket,” Magda said. “That’s obvious. In the crush while Rudolph was speaking. Who was near you?”
    “I don’t know.” There were tears in Theo’s eyes. One hung from the tip of his nose. “I didn’t notice. I was listening like Herr Dorp told me to.” He wailed, “I didn’t want to carry the papers. I didn’t want to be responsible.”
    “Enough,” Ottomkopf commanded. “You will turn in your uniform, be confined to quarters.” He looked about the room. The rear guard hadn’t caught up yet. The only uniforms were Janssen attending Rudolph, and Johnnie following Magda. “Who will escort him?”
    “I know the way,” Theo sniffled. “I’ll go.” He turned at the door. “If you’d only told me the inside pocket, Herr Dorp. But you said pocket.”
    “Go. Go on!” Dorp waggled five thick fingers. Theo went.
    “It’s Ferenz.” Magda scowled. “Of course it’s Ferenz in back of it.”
    “But why?” Dorp shook his head. “He is paying good money for Rudolph to go. And he knows nothing of the false papers.”
    “When you’ve known Ferenz as long as we have, Herr Dorp, you won’t ask why. You’ll know that everything he does is to make trouble and sell some more of his nasty bombs and stuff.”
    Rudolph almost fell off the throne. “You think Ferenz doesn’t want me to return to Rudamia? Because I won’t go if that’s the way he feels. After all I owe him a hundred and fifty thousand rudls. Besides he might be planning another revolution.”
    “He might be,” Magda admitted. She sat on the throne steps and put her chin in her hand. She surveyed the ruby lovingly. “But in that case why wouldn’t he let you go ahead? A revolution’s no good without a king to dethrone. And he promised me I could be queen. He even got the betrothal ring out of hock.”
    “There are no revolutions in the new Rudamia,” Dorp swelled up.
    “There can be,” Ottomkopf