Me and the Colonel Page #6

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Sir, my companions

had nothing to do with the accident.

It was my fault.

- Who are you?

- My name is Jacobowsky.

S.L. Jacobowsky.

- From?

- From Poland.

Where in Poland?

It's a small village.

I don't believe you would know it.

- It's called Horodenka.

- Horodenka.

Horodenka, that rings a bell. Horodenka.

I think we're interested

in somebody from Horodenka.

Not me, I hope.

That is highly unlikely.

Horodenka was the place, but the name...

What was the name?

Does the name Prokoszny

mean anything to you?

I beg your pardon?

- What did you say the name was?

- Prokoszny.

Colonel Tadaeusz Boleslav Prokoszny.

That's quite a formidable name

in Horodenka.

Do you know him?

Now, how would I know Colonel Prokoszny?

I do not ask how you would know.

I asked, do you know?

But, Major,

the Prokosznys belong

to the highest aristocracy.

And you know they are not exactly

sympathetic to my people.

And I see their point.

Did you not say

that you had a Polish husband?

Which one of these specimens is it?

Really?

Odd taste.

Evidently you share

the prejudice of your leaders.

Not particularly.

I had a weakness for Jewish girls

until it became unfashionable.

What is your name?

Answer when I speak to you.

Please, please, Major, you must forgive him.

He's suffering from shock.

He was at the bombing of Warsaw.

- What are you doing with him?

- He is my cousin.

- Also from Horodenka?

- Also from Horodenka, yes.

You know, there is something to this theory

of racial inferiority.

In my country, a fellow like this

would not be at large.

- Are you also incapable of speech?

- Who me? No, I speak good.

- What is your name?

- Isaac Jacobowsky. Another cousin.

You swim in Jacobowskys.

Well...

There's no accounting for taste.

Madame, you are a very attractive woman.

It is a frightful waste.

Unluckily for you,

you always catch me at a busy moment.

Otherwise I would show you

what a waste it is.

You will all be photographed

and fingerprinted.

Major Von Bergen, you are a cultivated man.

You are a humorous man.

And you are not a fanatic.

Well?

Wouldn't it amuse you, for my sake,

to make it possible for us

to get to the border?

Why should I do anything for your sake?

You are always either

waiting for your husband,

or worse, you are with him.

Why should I help you?

Because, Major,

in life there are two possibilities.

And what are they?

Why, you may win the war,

but you may lose the war.

Naturally, there are always

these two possibilities in any war.

But if you win,

what harm will it do to you to let us escape?

If we are caught, I'll never be able

to give you that dinner I promised you.

And if we lose, what?

Then you have three Jacobowskys

to testify that you saved their lives.

That may come in handy.

I've told you.

The Jacobowskys of this world

are no concern of mine.

You're free to go, all of you.

There is only one problem.

We are short of gasoline.

Gasoline.

Such chutzpah you must have learnt

only from your Jacobowsky.

- What?

- Chutzpah.

It is an expression I learnt

from one of my non-Aryan girlfriends.

It means effrontery to the nth degree.

Then you can't help us?

Not with gasoline.

But I'll see what can be done.

You know, for the sake of that dinner,

I really don't want anything

to happen to you.

- The sergeant will take care of you.

- Thank you very much, Major Von Bergen.

Thank you. I'll never forget this.

I didn't want to humiliate you.

What just happened was...

I was desperate, they would have killed you.

Perhaps that would have been better.

I could not get any gasoline,

but I got something almost as good.

- What's the matter?

- He's in a very bad way.

What are you doing?

I think it's time for the Colonel and I to part

while we are still friends.

- But how you gonna get to Hendaye?

- Walk.

When your feet hurt,

it is sometimes easier

to forget the pain in your heart.

Mademoiselle won't like it that you go.

I hope you're right, just a little.

- She was a good friend, huh?

- Yes.

He'll be all right, this Jacobowsky.

Nothing bad will happen to him.

Bet he gets out of the country before we do.

He'll get across the border easy,

with some tricks.

You know what's going to happen

at the border?

Germans will give him

passage money to England.

No need to worry about Jacobowsky.

I don't like that tune.

Why do I sing that tune?

Can we give you a lift?

That's very kind of you,

but won't you be terribly crowded?

We're crowded already.

It couldn't be worse. Do get in.

Thank you.

Please.

You have given my legs a new lease on life.

I don't know how to thank you, dear lady.

You haven't a moment to lose, my son.

God bless you.

Well, the German army must be

in a pretty pass

if they can't get on

without my poor old automobile.

If these supermen

should change their minds,

we're at St Joseph's convent, up the hill.

My passenger.

I'm sorry to see you here.

I myself am not exactly overjoyed.

Courage.

You.

- Your name is Jacobowsky?

- Yes.

And the man in both these photographs

is Colonel Prokoszny, huh?

I know Monsieur Prokoszny,

but I did not know he was a Colonel.

Where is Colonel Prokoszny?

- I don't know.

- Why did you separate?

He took the automobile and went off with it.

- With no arrangements to meet again?

- No.

No, no arrangements. None.

But you know where they were going,

don't you?

I think, I believe,

they wanted to go to Spain. I believe.

Not to England?

England?

No.

Never heard of that.

You don't know

from what point on this coast

the Colonel is planning to sail to England?

No, I'm sorry. No.

I never heard of such a plan.

My friend here is a skilled technician.

He has a faculty for getting from people

who start out totally ignorant

a surprising amount of information.

With me he would fail.

Not because I doubt his skill.

It's merely that I... I don't know.

These Poles can't possibly get away.

Our intelligence knows

there is a British ship waiting for them.

I assure you,

you will do yourself a great service

if you tell us the place of the rendezvous.

Look, gentlemen, they deserted me.

They took my automobile, which I paid for,

and left me on the road to Hendaye.

Why should I protect them?

Why should I protect them?

If I knew anything,

I would be very happy to tell you,

but how can I tell you if I don't know?

You will have till 8:00 to solve that problem.

If you haven't by that time,

I shall turn you over to my colleague here.

He will discover what even you don't know.

You may go now.

- May I have my passport?

- I'll keep it.

Report back at 8:00.

Berlin wants immediate action.

The escape route by which these allied

officers are being smuggled out to England

must be discovered and destroyed.

Do you think this Jacobowsky

knows anything?

We shall soon find out.

One thing is certain.

The Colonel is not in Hendaye.

I have been keeping a sharp lookout

for the Rolls Royce.

But if this Jacobowsky knows where he is

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