The jangle of the telephone on the desk jerked Kinch's attention away from the radio part he was repairing for Baker. "Stalag 13," he growled into the receiver.

"This is General Burkhalter. Put Colonel Klink on the line," a familiar voice ordered sharply.

"I am sorry, Herr General, but Colonel Klink is, eh, inspecting the barracks. I don't know how long it would take me to find him," Kinch apologized. "Can I give him a message?"

"Yes, you can give him a message, and make sure he obeys it!" Burkhalter snapped. "Tell him that lunatic Major Hochstetter is after me, and I have decided to take refuge in Stalag 13. Under no circumstances is Klink to allow Hochstetter access to the camp! Understood?"

"But Herr General—" Kinch protested with genuine horror.

"No buts! Klink is to send a staff car to the guard post on the road five miles south of the camp. I will send my driver back to Berlin to throw Hochstetter off the trail."

"I will tell the Kommandant at once," Kinch agreed, heaving a sigh as his mind raced through all the problems that had just arisen.

"Good. What is your name, soldier?" Burkhalter said approvingly.

"Sergeant, eh, Kinchmeyer, Herr General. I am newly assigned to the Stalag 13 command."

"I wouldn't have thought that Klink could have on his staff someone that I could enjoy a sensible conversation with. Perhaps I might look into a promotion for you and a transfer to my staff," Burkhalter offered. "I could use a man like you."

One side of Kinch's mouth quirked up in a wry smile as he thanked the general for the offer and hung up. "He could use a man like me," he mimicked Burkhalter's shrill voice to address the radio part. "I better go tell the Kommandant."

The silver coffeepot held only thin, weak liquid, and there were no cookies on the delicate china plates, but neither man complained. Puffy-eyed but composed, Hilda insisted on serving the coffee before returning to the outer office to relieve Kinch, leaving Hogan and Max to talk.

"Did you have any trouble with the convoy?" Hogan asked. He sipped his 'coffee' and grimaced.

"No, but you are going to have trouble here," Max informed him in a foreboding tone. "The ex-kommandant with the monocle tried to bribe me to help him escape."

"Oh he did, did he?" Hogan didn't take the attempt too seriously. "He probably wants to annoy me, but he doesn't have the guts to go through with an escape without a lot of help."

"He offered me a thousand marks," the grocer said. "But I think you are right. He was not even brave enough to walk across the yard to talk to me—he hid behind the fat one."

Hogan grinned at the mental picture. "Yep, that sounds like our Klink—" A knock on the door cut off his words. "Come in."

Kinch wore a frown. "Colonel, sorry to bother you but Klink just had a phone call from Burkhalter. The general is coming to Stalag 13 tomorrow to hide from Major Hochstetter."

"Oh, great," Hogan groaned. "Why can't they have their own private war and leave us out of it?"

Max set his cup down with a tinkle of china. "This General Burkhalter, could you not capture him when he arrives and keep him as another prisoner until the Allies arrive?"

Col Hogan considered the idea. "He'd bring Hochstetter to our gates, and I don't like the thought of a fight right here at the camp. No, we can't have that . . ." Absently he stood and began to pace back and forth behind the desk, arms folded across his chest.

Kinch watched his movements for a few moments and then turned to Max with a confident nod. "Don't worry, he's thinking of something. It may make your hair stand on end when you hear it, but he's got a plan."

"Thanks for the support, Kinch." Hogan stopped pacing. "Max, go through with that escape for Klink. Bring the car around for him."

"Can I still charge him the thousand marks?"

The question made both Americans laugh. "You're a great capitalist, Max. Charge him whatever you like," Hogan chuckled. "Just have the car ready for him. Tell him that he has to take the south road—all the others are blocked by the Allied troops or some such nonsense as that. We'll do the rest."

"I'll go tell him." Max rose from his chair and extended his hand to the colonel. "Danke for the coffee."

"Yeah, well, I'll visit after the war and bring a pound of the real McCoy." Hogan's nose wrinkled as he looked down at the pot. "Thanks, Max."

Kinch waited until the door was closed behind the grocer before he spoke again. "Oh, there was one other thing I was supposed to tell you, Herr Kommandant. General Burkhalter could use a man like me and offered me a transfer to his staff."

"He what?" Hogan looked his second-in-command up and down with a mock-serious expression. "You know, Kinch, that's the kind of thing that makes a commanding officer suspicious of a guy's background."

White teeth flashed in a dark face as Kinch grinned. "If I hear of any Krauts in my family history I'll let you know."

Klink was waiting by the front of the truck with an expectant look on his face when Max emerged from the office. "Well?"

"Fifteen hundred marks and you have a car," Max said without preamble.

The ex-kommandant wrinkled his nose and nearly dropped his monocle. "Are you sure you can't make it twelve hundred?" he bargained.

The grocer scowled. "Are you sure you can't stay here and wait for the Americans to arrive?"

"All right, all right," Klink gave in. "Fifteen hundred marks, and the car is waiting for me tomorrow night at dark, near the fence." He spun around and marched away. If he had looked back, he would have seen Max scornfully shaking his head.

The single track of Carter's mind was completely occupied with the memory of the excellent midday meal that LeBeau had prepared as he headed from the mess hall to Hogan's office, and at first he didn't hear his name being called.

"Sergeant Carter?" Langenscheidt dared to tap his shoulder.

Carter leaped several inches into the air and came down with a thud. "Boy, you sure made me jump!" he exclaimed. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry I scared you," Langenscheidt said sheepishly. "Corporal Mittendorf and I have a favor to ask." He tugged on the arm of an even more hesitant-looking fellow prisoner and brought him forward.

"Ask away," Carter shrugged.

The corporal took several attempts to get his speech started, then said in a rush, "It is about Kommandant Klink. We know that Colonel Hogan can do many things, and we thought perhaps if he talks to the colonel he can fix everything."

"I can ask him. What's it about?"

"We were only doing it for, how do you say, amusement?" Mittendorf hurried to assure him. "It was nothing more than that, and it was not until Klink started to lose that he became angry."

"What did he lose?" Carter hopefully pursued the thread of conversation.

Langenscheidt grimaced at the memory. "The dice game."