Johnnie Read Online Free PDF Page B

kingdom does. He’ll be glad to see me.” His eyes popped. “And I’m not an ass, Trudy.”
    “You are if you do anything so utterly, utterly—”
    “Icky,” Johnnie supplied.
    “Quiet!” Magda yelled. She turned back to Rudolph. “Don’t you see it’s a trap? It must be a trap. Ruprecht agreed—”
    “You’re all being revoltingly stupid,” Rudolph said. “I am going to Ruprecht’s party right now. I like parties. The Clipper doesn’t leave until morning. It is not yet eight o’clock. What do you expect me to do until tomorrow? Sit and eat wienerwursts!” He shuddered. “Janssen!”
    The Number One jumping jack clicked again.
    “My coat.”
    “If you insist on seeing your brother,” Herr Ottomkopf gritted, “I will attend you.”
    “And I,” Herr Dorp sighed.
    “Of course, I’ll go with you, Rudo,” Magda purred. “If you really need to see Ruprecht so badly.”
    Johnnie looked for Trudy to make it a quorum. Somehow she’d slipped out of the room. Probably while he was watching Janssen perform.
    Rudolph drew himself up but he didn’t protest. Janssen helped him into a black coat that buttoned under his chin. Janssen put on the patent leather hair a black dress cap, officers’ cap. Johnnie frowned. He hadn’t caught it before. These weren’t chauffeur suits; they were soldier suits. But not of the U. S. Army. His stomach teetered for the first time.
    Dorp said, “Wait. Theo, you will come with me. We must have coats for the men. They cannot go into the street this way.” He paddled out. Theo goose-stepped after him.
    Magda turned. “My cape. Johann! Johnnie !”
    “Who, me?” He’d been watching Rudolph pop another butt to the floor.
    “Yes, you.”
    He brought it to her, laid it about her shoulders. She looked daggers but she wouldn’t stab him in front of the great Rudolph. She pulled the hood over her head, took the velvet handbag, fumbled in it. “My gloves. One moment, Rudolph. I forgot them.” Her smile would melt butter. She swirled, made swiftly out the door.
    Johnnie turned, followed her. She was almost at the head of the stairs before he started up. But he had his orders. Follow me. He hesitated just a minute before he opened the door of her room. Gloves might mean something like powder my nose. Just the same he went in. He wanted a word alone with her. He couldn’t go out on the street like this. What if the M. P.’s spotted him?
    He nearly backed out again fast. She was standing in front of her fancy dressing table. And she was just putting a little blunt-nosed shiny gun into the velvet purse.
2.
    Magda saw his reflection in the dressing-table mirror. She whirled her white skirts. The velvet bag was closed now. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
    He found his voice. “You told me to trail you, Princess.” He burst out with it. “What are you doing with that gun?”
    She held the velvet against her. She spoke carefully. “I think this is a trap. There are certain people who do not want Rudolph to return to his country.” She flared, “How dare you question me?”
    “Where is his country?”
    She had a pair of long white gloves and she began easing them over her wrist diamonds. “Did you ever hear of Luxembourg?”
    “No’m.”
    She was impatient. “Well, it isn’t Luxembourg but it’s near there. If you’ve never heard of it, the name wouldn’t mean anything.”
    He was suspicious. “Not Germany?”
    “No, not Germany,” she snapped. “Come along. I wouldn’t trust that idiot not to go off and leave me here.”
    “Listen, Princess,” he began.
    “Come along,” she commanded, shoving past him. “And I told you to stop that Princess stuff.”
    She made time on the stairs but she didn’t get away from him. The others were gathered in the second floor corridor. The soldiers had black coats covering up their uniforms. Dorp was giving orders with his fat fingers. The nails were still dirty. “You will go in this car—you in