Rigadoon (16 page)

"Raumnitz?"

"He's there, you'll see him!"

Restif and Raumnitz . . . somebody that knew us at least . . . our train's rolling along . . . clattering some . . . but not bad . . . a bit of a roller-coaster effect . . . ups and downs . . . ah, here we are . . . we're pulling in . . . very slowly . . . a big sign . . .
Sigmaringen
. . . the cops weren't lying . . . I recognize the platform . . . hell, I've paced it often enough! and the waiting room . . . oh, it's Restif! in person! . . . right at our door . . .

"Don't move!
bonjour! bonjour!
keep your seats! Raumnitz wants to see you! he's coming! . . ."

Our two cops . . . the tricolor and the Boche . . . they know all about it. . . they get up, they leave us . . .

"Good-bye! . . .
bon voyage!"

No surprise to them . . . here's Raumnitz with his two dogs . . .

"You can get out! . . . this way please, I want a word with you . . ."

He doesn't greet us or shake hands . . . cold reception . . . no questions . . . I see that he's aged . . . yellow . . . wrinkled . . . I know him, he doesn't drink or take drugs . . . something must have happened . . . ravaged . . . looks ten years older . . . and we'd left only six months ago . . . on this Brandenburg zigzag . . . naturally things can happen in six months, and not just to us! the time only passes for us! how can other people have trouble? nothing happens to other people, nothing, all they've got to do is pity us, comfort us, weep over our misfortunes, shower us with gifts . . . so we step out . . . we cross the platform with Raumnitz and his dogs . . . the waiting room . . . here we are . . . it's empty . . . six chairs, that's all . . . the Major closes the door . . . now what? . . . he sits down . . . we're all ears . . .

"Well, doctor! . . . during your absence decisions have been taken . . . for you and for others . . ."

He's lost the thread . . . oh yes!

"Sigmaringen evacuated . . . must be! . . . quickly . . . three days . . . special train for you . . . you and Restif and his men . . ."

"Major, all we do is travel . . . we've come a long way . . ."

"I know . . . I know . . . but it's necessary!"

"Where to, Major?"

"I can't tell you, but pretty far . . . it's all arranged . . . you see . . . you're expected . . ."

Le Vig stands up . . . his arms outstretched . . . his head drooping . . . there he goes again! . . . Christ crucified! . . .

"Major, I can't move another inch! . . . I can't go anywhere! . . . kill me! kill me! . . ."

He's sobbing . . .

"No, of course not! . . . not you, Monsieur Le Vigan! at any rate not right away! . . . you wish to go south, I believe . . . still south, is it?"

How did he know?

"Oh yes, Major! . . . Rome! . . . Rome! . . ."

Perfect agreement . . .

"Tomorrow, Monsieur Le Vigan! . . . via the Brenner . . . Rome! satisfactory?"

And how! tears of joy! . . . the sooner the better! . . .

"Ah, Ferdinand! and you, Lili! forgive me! I couldn't go on! . . . I put in a request . . . up there!"

He'd doublecrossed us, the skunk! . . . where had he put in this request? To who?

"Harras!"

"You bastard! at least you could have . . ."

"Alone, Ferdinand! . . . I wanted to be alone! you understand? . . . you forgive me?"

"Alone in Rome?"

"Yes, Ferdinand! yes! I've got to be alone!"

He goes into his Christ pose . . . right there in front of us . . . tears and all . . . contrition, bitter grief, the same old dodge . . . I'd seen him like that in Grünwald with his two cuties . . . the two Polish broads, remember? . . . praying together and all . . .

"Lili, you'll take care of my Bébert? . . . you know how I love him . . ."

He puts out his right arm . . . very slowly . . . he holds it over our heads . . .

"Le Vig, I see you're giving us your blessing . . ."

I hadn't time to tell him what I thought of him . . . Raumnitz cuts me off . . .

"Doctor, you'll take another train, the one you came on has pulled out! . . . ha ha ha! . . . the Ulm express!"

He's laughing . . . unusual for him, very unusual . . .

"Now you'll have something else . . . something you don't know yet!"

I'm not really listening, I'm thinking of Le Vig . . . food for thought . . . his Rome caper . . . he didn't want to be with us any more . . . okay! . . . he wanted to see the sun . . . true, we hadn't seen much of it, but was that a reason to drop us . . .
plunk!
. . . like a hot potato! . . . I couldn't believe it . . .

"Doctor, if you please . . ."

"Yes, Major . . . yes!"

"Restif will explain it all in the train . . ."

I couldn't quite see Restif explaining . . . it wasn't his way, never had been . . . maybe you remember . . . Restif had his school in Sigmaringen . . . but nobody attended his classes . . . except the men of his commando, the ones that were supposed to reconquer France . . . those were the days of the lists and secret tribunals . . . Strasbourg was occupied by the blacks . . . Restif was going to put an end to all that, first liberate Strasbourg, then the whole of France, like some kind of Jean d'Arc, and chuck all the English into the sea . . .

Now we can laugh! right now, December 1960, there are new lists going around in addition to the old ones . . . names have been added to names . . . the first listmakers have all died! . . . of prostate, fibromas, or strokes, and their successors, the new listmakers, are wondering if they ought to change the names, if maybe those people are dead, if it's not their sons, cousins, nieces who were on the wrong side . . . very hard to mete out justice with lists twenty . . . thirty years old . . . the Chinese won't have anything to do, nobody to purge, much as they'd like to, there won't be any Frenchmen left, they'll all have been murdered . . . Restif had started long before the war . . . maybe you remember, the Roselli sisters° in the Métro . . . and Barrachin° in the Bois de Boulogne . . . political affairs . . . he never talked about his technique, if you brought it up, he walked away . . . what he liked to talk about was History . . . especially Greek history, but without the murders and sacrifices . . . Marion gave a course in history, for him and his men . . . never a word about massacres . . . but what about this famous technique? nothing to it! . . . Marion had gotten him to explain it . . . operation in two steps . . . step one, harpoon your man, push his head back! . . . step two, sever his carotids . . . both of them! . . . in short, the guillotine in reverse! but quicker! that was the whole trick! harpoon the victim and
fsss!
two steps, one movement! . . . head back, two jets of blood! . . . that's all! oh yes, the weapon! . . . a very fine sickle! a razor . . .
fsss!
not a cry, not even a hiccup . . .

So there was a black army in Strasbourg? . . . they'd stepped into a trap, fine! . . . they'd be liquidated! . . . Restif didn't boast, that was Sigmaringen chit-chat . . . Restif never boasted . . .

"Doctor, if you please . . . your train will be over there . . ."

Raumnitz speaking . . .

"What train?"

He explains . . . a "special strategic" train . . . and then what? . . . going where? . . . no name given! . . . this didn't look so good! . . . coal-burning engine . . . no soot! no smoke cloud! . . . Le Vig must have known all this, all these advantages, this "special strategic" tourism . . . he'd dropped us all the same! . . . must be some plot . . . cooking up since Moorsburg . . . to ship the two of us, Lili, me, and Bébert, off someplace . . . and him, Le Vig, the Christ, to the sun in Rome! . . . supposedly . . . Restif must have known more, but I've told you, absolute discretion . . . I'd have welcomed some news of Marion, Bout de l'An,° Brinon° . . . and this one and that one . . . but I thought I'd better not ask . . . memory is a privilege . . . lightnings and a thousand deaths to anybody who starts murmuring maybes . . . nobody wants your maybes! maybe? . . . there's only one truth! on one side! . . . only one church! . . . worried? in doubt? . . . the like of us? . . . cyanide!

"Doctor, I believe you can . . ."

I guess he's trying to tell us the train's there . . . I'd heard a locomotive . . . Restif motions to me . . . yes, that's it . . . Lili's ready . . . Le Vig doesn't look, doesn't move, his head in his hands . . . he's not leaving, he'll be leaving tomorrow . . . we go out on the platform, Lili, me, and Bébert . . . not exactly what we'd been expecting . . . three big freight cars . . . gray . . . "eight horses, forty men" . . . every army in the world, the same . . . our car . . . door half open . . . right! this is it! . . . Raumnitz leads the way . . . this train with three freight cars has come from Constance . . . we get in . . . the usual freight car, I see . . . thick layer of bedding, hay and straw . . . this one's for men . . . I don't see any stalls . . . here come the men . . . with Restif . . . his whole "commando," at least thirty of them, "Milice" equipment, capes, potato masher hand grenades, Mausers . . . they whisper among themselves, pass in front of us, and settle down in the corners . . . they're still whispering . . . we'd better get settled too . . . Restif must know what this is all about . . . I'll try to get it out of him . . . no whistle! . . . we're moving! . . . nobody's seen us off . . . neither the Major nor Le Vig . . . no need to prod Restif . . . glad to talk, he'd only been waiting for the train to pull out . . . plenty on his mind! . . .

"Doctor, I see you're not surprised, you've been around, but this time they're overdoing it . . . couldn't say anything in front of them . . . you know how they are! . . . but now we're moving, okay! nothing to lose now! . . . neither have they, take it from me! . . . I know them inside out! . . . I've worked for them . . . full time! . . . so have my men! . . . the Boches can't pull the wool over my eyes! oh no! . . . I know what they're up to before they do! . . . you want to know where we're going . . . they won't tell you . . . God-forsaken hole that's lost its name, they've taken it away, scratched it off all the signs! . . . painted it over! . . . you won't find it anywhere . . . not even at the station . . . this station we're going to . . . Oddort, it used to be called . . . now it isn't called anything . . . and I know why . . ."

"Is it far?"

"Hmmm! three . . . four hours° . . . with them you never know . . . this train's an express . . . none of your smoke factories . . . coal-burning! . . . it can do seventy . . . you won't even see the tunnels . . . you won't see anything! . . .
whish!
in the first place you won't be able to look out . . . no windows! . . . can't open the doors! locked from outside . . . no use trying! . . . all three cars!"

"Raumnitz! . . . and Le Vigan! . . . did you notice? absolutely in cahoots!"

I should have looked around . . . this track we were on? . . . I really didn't get it . . .

Restif explains . . . organization! they'd built the whole line in a week . . . all the convicts, all the
bibels,°
 and three engineer divisions . . . the whole works! roadbed, tracks, ties! . . . only the tunnels had been there before . . . an abandoned line! . . . 1896 . . . they'd cleared away the rock, fixed the whole thing up in less than a month! . . .

"They can't impress me, I know them! the bastards!"

They didn't impress me either, but they certainly did what they pleased, except of course what was in the cards, that they'd be scrumpled to a pulp . . . same as us . . . when I think of it now, they were kerflooey already, the rest was blah-blah, playacting . . .

Meanwhile we were making time . . . those freight cars held the track and didn't rattle . . . if there'd been windows and crappers nobody'd have complained . . . we couldn't see the faces of the "Restif Commando," it was too dark, but they were certainly snoring . . . it was a coal engine, no soot at all . . . we'd be there pretty soon . . . in Oddort or whatever it was . . .

"Restif, what is it near?"

"Hanover! . . . three miles!"

"Fire?"

"Plenty! . . . it's still burning . . ."

"How do you know?"

"Never mind, I know . . ."

Then he asks me if I know a certain Svaboda . . . if Raumnitz had mentioned him . . . no! that is, yes! . . . in the movies! in Paris . . . in a picture! . . . it wasn't the same one! . . . not the one in the movies . . . another Svabodal a general! . . . a Comitadji general . . . the Germans had adopted him . . . put him in command of the whole "Central Europe" Resistance . . . Restif knew this General Svaboda well . . .

"I missed him in Schwenningen!" I see!

"At the Orpheum Casino, at the concert! . . . I had him in my . . ."

He didn't have to tell me any more, I understood . . . they had accounts to settle . . . none of my business what kind . . . I knew better than to ask questions . . . but what was he exactly? a general of what?

"He'll tell you . . . he's the 'heart of the Resistance' . . ."

"Where? . . . in Oddort?"

"Yes! . . . against the English, against the Russians, against everybody . . . air, land, and sea . . . in the Redoubt too . . . didn't you know? Didn't Raumnitz tell you?"

No! . . . not a word . . . Restif knew all about it . . . lucky Le Vig wasn't there, I was thinking, there'd be no holding him . . . he'd doublecrossed us, the bastard, escaped like a fart, good riddance I'd say! . . . to Rome supposedly! . . . well, anything's possible . . . we were rolling along . . . it was like magic . . . these tracks were practically intact . . . after what we'd been through! . . . the leper trains and fish trains . . . I've told you, falling apart, no more rails, no more wheels . . . never fear, this train would get its comeuppance too . . . so would their whole regenerated line . . . it was funny, but that's all! Siegfried was funny too, the character in Ulm, with his steeple, his lost youth, his outfit, his rope-climbing . . . all these sensational stunts are only preludes . . . then
wham!
nothing left . . . like going down Niagara Falls in a barrel, tied hand and foot . . . "You are about to see, ladies and gentlemen! thundering waters, fuming spray . . . ladies and gentlemen, you've seen! this way now! a cruise to the entrails of Vesuvius! sulphur and porphyry! all shapes and colors! the big show! . . . twenty-five thousand tons! in one fell swoop! and off she goes! . . . into the clouds! Can't you see it? . . . have pity!"

Ruminating . . . recapitulating . . . we'll be getting off at the next stop . . . in about an hour . . . Restif was talking to his men . . . giving them their instructions, I guess . . . nothing to do with us, I hope . . . but bound to be some connection . . . who'd be there to welcome us in Oddort? . . . who'd break our seals? . . . plenty to keep me awake! . . . ah, we're slowing down . . . they're putting on the brakes . . . the engine's puffing a little . . . here we are! . . .

They're working on our doors! the linchpins . . . all of a sudden, broad daylight! . . . and a platform, all we had to do was get out . . . fine! I let Restif go by . . . he shows me: no signs . . . you'd never have known it was Oddort.