Part 6 (2/2)
We climbed down and watched the burning heap. It soon burned out. Meanwhile we made levers of green wood and hoisted it to the side of the road and over the wall into the abyss, where for a long time it went cras.h.i.+ng through the undergrowth. Two of the dead bodies had fallen out as we turned the car over and lay on the road with their clothing partly burned. One wore a coat which was still in fairly good condition. I searched the pockets to see who he was and came across a leather portfolio with some cards in it. I took one and read: Tat Twam Asi.
”Very witty,” said Gustav. ”Though, as a matter of fact, it is all one what our victims are called. They're poor devils just as we are. Their names don't matter. This world is done for and so are we. The least painful solution would be to hold it under water for ten minutes. Now to work-”
We threw the bodies after the car. Already another one was tooting. We shot it down with a volley where we stood. It made a drunken swerve and reeled on for a stretch: then turned over and lay gasping. One pa.s.senger was still sitting inside, but a pretty young girl got out uninjured, though she was white and trembling violently. We greeted her politely and offered our a.s.sistance. She was too much shaken to speak and stared at us for a while quite dazed.
”Well, first let us look after the old boy,” said Gustav and turned to the occupant of the car who still clung to his seat behind the chauffeur. He was a gentleman with short grey hair. His intelligent, clear gray eyes were open, but he seemed to be seriously hurt; at least, blood flowed from his mouth and he held his neck askew and rigid.
”Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gustav. We have taken the liberty of shooting your chauffeur. May we inquire whom we have the honor to address?”
The old man looked at us coolly and sadly out of his small gray eyes.
”I am Attorney-General Loering,” he said slowly. ”You have not only killed my poor chauffeur, but me too, I fancy. Why did you shoot on us?”
”For exceeding the speed limit.”
”We were not traveling at more than normal speed.”
”What was normal yesterday is no longer normal today, Mr. Attorney-General. We are of the opinion that whatever speed a motorcar travels is too great. We are destroying all cars and all other machines also.”
”Your rifles too?”
”Their turn will come, granted we have the time. Presumably by tomorrow or the day after we shall all be done for. You know, of course, that this part of the world was shockingly overpopulated. Well, now we are going to let in a little air.”
”Are you shooting every one, without distinction?”
”Certainly. In many cases it may no doubt be a pity. I'm sorry, for example, about this charming young lady. Your daughter, I presume.”
”No. She is my stenographer.”
”So much the better. And now will you please get out, or let us carry you out, as the car is to be destroyed.”
”I prefer to be destroyed with it.”
”As you wish. But allow me to ask you one more question. You are a public prosecutor. I never could understand how a man could be a public prosecutor. You make your living by bringing other men, poor devils mostly, to trial and pa.s.sing sentence on them. Isn't that so?”
”It is. I do my duty. It was my office. Exactly as it is the office of the hangman to hang those whom I condemn to death. You too have a.s.sumed a like office. You kill people also.”
”Quite true. Only we do not kill from duty, but pleasure, or much more, rather, from displeasure and despair of the world. For this reason we find a certain amus.e.m.e.nt in killing people. Has it never amused you?”
”You bore me. Be so kind as to do your work. Since the conception of duty is unknown to you-”
He was silent and made a movement of his lips as though to spit. Only a little blood came, however, and clung to his chin.
”One moment!” said Gustav politely. ”The conception of duty is certainly unknown to me-now. Formerly I had a great deal of official concern with it. I was a professor of theology. Besides that, I was a soldier and went through the war. What seemed to me to be duty and what the authorities and my superior officers from time to time enjoined upon me was not by any means good. I would rather have done the opposite. But granting that the conception of duty is no longer known to me, I still know the conception of guilt-perhaps they are the same thing. In so far as a mother bore me, I am guilty. I am condemned to live. I am obliged to belong to a state, to serve as a soldier, to kill and to pay taxes for armaments. And now at this moment the guilt of life has brought me once more to the necessity of killing the people as it did in the war. And this time I have no repugnance. I am resigned to the guilt. I have no objection to this stupid congested world going to bits. I am glad to help and glad to perish with it.”
The public prosecutor made an effort to smile a little with his lips on which the blood had coagulated. He did not succeed very well, though the good intention was manifest.
”Good,” said he. ”So we are colleagues. Well, as such, please do your duty.”
The pretty girl had meanwhile sat down by the side of the road and fainted.
At this moment there was again the tooting of a car coming down the road at full speed. We drew the girl a little to one side and, standing close against the cliff, let the approaching car run into the ruins of the other. The brakes were applied violently and the car reared up in the air. It came to a standstill undamaged. We seized our rifles and quickly had the newcomers covered.
”Get out!” commanded Gustav. ”Hands up!”
Three men got out of the car and obediently held up their hands.
”Is any one of you a doctor?” Gustav asked.
They shook their heads.
”Then be so good as to remove this gentleman. He is seriously hurt. Take him in your car to the nearest town. Forward, and get on with it.”
The old gentleman was soon lying in the other car. Gustav gave the word and off they went.
The stenographer meanwhile had come to herself and had been watching these proceedings. I was glad we had made so fair a prize.
”Madam,” said Gustav, ”you have lost your employer. I hope you were not bound to the old gentleman by other ties. You are now in my service. So be our good comrade. So much for that; and now time presses. It will be uncomfortable here before long. Can you climb, Madam? Yes? Then go ahead and we'll help you up between us.”
We all climbed up to our hut in the tree as fast as we could. The lady did not feel very well up there, but we gave her some brandy, and she was soon so much recovered that she was able to admire the wonderful view over lake and mountains and to tell us also that her name was Dora.
Immediately after this, there was another car below us. It steered carefully past the overturned one without stopping and then gathered speed.
”Poltroon!” laughed Gustav and shot the driver. The car zigzagged and das.h.i.+ng into the wall stove it in and hung suspended over the abyss.
”Dora,” I said, ”can you use firearms?”
She could not, but we taught her how to load. She was clumsy at first and hurt her finger and cried and wanted court-plaster. But Gustav told her it was war and that she must show her courage. Then it went better.
”But what's going to become of us?” she asked.
”Don't know,” said Gustav. ”My friend Harry is fond of pretty girls. He'll look after you.”
”But the police and the soldiers will come and kill us.”
”There aren't any police and such like any more. We can choose, Dora. Either we stay quietly up here and shoot down every car that tries to pa.s.s, or else we can take a car and drive off in it and let others shoot at us. It's all the same which side we take. I'm for staying here.”
And now there was the loud tooting of another car beneath us. It was soon accounted for and lay there wheels uppermost.
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