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Chapter 10

At his accustomed table at the Café d'Harcourt, Eric Lenzinger brooded over his empty wine glass waiting anxiously for Anna. When she failed to show up he dashed out and visited an old flame of his. The blonde Elsa, big, sensuous, her voluminous bosom showing beneath her transparent blouse, greeted him warmly. They spent the night together. Yet when he left her, he was as restless as ever. Deep in his heart he felt empty, drained of all emotion except the passion for revenge! His conquest of the loose-living Elsa gave him no comfort. Bitter with frustration he thought of going back home.

Eric was the son of a prosperous farmer in Bavaria. His future had been mapped out: to follow in his father's foot steps, but he had rebelled against the rustic life of the peasant. The Hitler era aroused his hunger for adventure for heroic action. The big farm contracted to a few drab inches of earth. At his graduation, his principal took him aside and advised him as to his future course.

"Eric Lenzinger," he said, and the words were etched in his memory, "you have a good head and a strong body. Germany's future hinges on men like you. We have our men everywhere, patriots working for a bigger and successful Reich. You can become a key figure in our new Germany, one of our elite. Think it over, young man!"

On the Gare de Nord he was met by a group of German