Rhineland Inheritance (26 page)

Jake searched the sergeant's face. “You didn't pressure anyone to go along with this?”

“Nossir. It just sort of happened, I guess you could say. I can't explain it any better than that. But everybody agrees. All of us, sir.”

“This will mean a lot to these people, Sergeant,” Jake said solemnly. “It may make the difference between life and death for some. This is a very great and generous act.”

Morrows shrugged and said, “We'll probably regret it like the dickens in the morning, sir.”

“I doubt it,” Jake replied. “I doubt it very much.” He rose to his feet and offered the sergeant his hand. “For all those who will never know what you've done, accept my thanks, Sergeant. And pass it along to everyone else. Tell them . . .” Jake paused, then said simply, “I have never been prouder of anyone, at any time, than I am of all of you.”

Toward dusk, Jake pulled out of the main gates and started
down the road, only to find Karl walking up the road toward him. Jake stopped and turned off the jeep. “Where are your friends?”

“I wished to speak with you alone,” Karl replied.

“Come aboard,” Jake offered.

The boy took the seat beside him. “So it is done.”

“Not entirely,” Jake replied, thinking of the promotion he was about to accept.

“No,” Karl agreed, misunderstanding him. Then he confessed, “I do not know what to do with our gold.”

“It is a great deal of wealth,” Jake agreed.

Karl slumped down even farther. “That all these riches could cause so many problems.”

“There are banks with safety deposit boxes,” Jake replied. “And there will be traders for the coins later when the markets are restored. And friends to offer help in the meantime.”

“Banks and markets are for people with papers,” Karl replied bitterly. “And friends go away to distant lands.”

“Not this friend,” Jake corrected him. “And papers can be arranged.”

“What are you saying?”

“I happen to know for a fact,” Jake answered, “that a certain commander of the Karlsruhe garrison is looking for a squad of young German men and women to help out around the base. Orderlies for the Officers' Mess, clerical help, assistants in the PX, that sort of thing.”

“Commander?” Karl gaped. “You?”

“The job pays three square meals a day and provides a wealth of experience,” Jake went on. “Along with a warm bunk and pocket money. This means you can leave your funds untouched until your feet and your nation are firmly established upon solid ground. The one condition is that all jobholders must go to school.”

Karl made a face. “School.”

“You will thank me in the end,” Jake promised. “And I will see that you all receive papers.”

“You will do this? For me?”

“A life is a great debt to owe somebody,” Jake replied. “I recall someone telling me that once.”

Karl's face split into a mighty grin. “We were a great team.”

Jake corrected him, “We still are.”

DAVIS BUNN, a professional novelist for over twenty years, is the author of numerous national bestsellers with sales totaling more than six million copies. His work has been published in sixteen languages, and his critical acclaim includes three Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Formerly an international business executive working in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Bunn is now a lecturer in creative writing and Writer in Residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University. He and his wife, Isabella, divide their time between the English countryside and the coast of Florida.

    Books by Davis Bunn    

The Book of Hours
The Great Divide
Winner Take All
The Lazarus Trap
Elixir
Imposter

Lion of Babylon
Rare Earth
All Through the Night
My Soul to Keep

A
CTS OF
F
AITH*

The Centurion's Wife • The Hidden Flame
The Damascus Way

S
ONG OF
A
CADIA
*

The Meeting Place • The Sacred Shore
The Birthright • The Distant Beacon
The Beloved Land

H
EIRS OF
A
CADIA†

The Solitary Envoy • The Innocent Libertine
The Noble Fugitive • The Night Angel
Falconer's Quest

*with Janette Oke     †with Isabella Bunn