Page 8 - Tales the Maggid Never Told Me

The Herati Gambit

Nishtikstein smiled wryly. “I needed no warning about my fate.
You and I are disposable pawns in this game, Herr Goh,
masquerading as bishops or knights. Do you play chess?”
Retsu Goh’s eyebrows lifted. “Not since I was in high school. An
asparagus farmer has little time for idle pastimes.”
“I ask because it is relevant. In my former life I taught high
school—history and foreign languages—until it became forbidden to
Jews. I was the sponsor of the chess club. Revealing to each other
our real identities has changed the potential of our pieces on the
board; perhaps the board itself is not the same. We have a very short
time to analyze the situation and make our move.”
“I agree.” Retsu indicated his coat. “I have another pistol. They
give us three options: kill ourselves now, kill as many Italians as we
can before they kill us or commandeer an airplane and attempt to
escape.”
“I would not limit out possibilities so quickly.” Korbin pointed to
the classified documents they had just read. “We must factor in this
new information in the light of our personal predicament. I am glad
you have practical experience in agriculture. The irrigation system
described here is completely foreign to me, so I am unable to weigh
its value in the scheme. Now let us review this top-secret description
of the Axis entry into the Great Game: as a linguist I do not trust
translations. It has passed from Italian to German and to Japanese,
undoubtedly by different hands. If we can agree on what it says in
English we may feel more secure in our understanding.”
Retsu Goh looked at his watch. “Yes, I can clear up that point for
you. Let’s not waste precious time. The Italians may begin to wonder
about us.”
Korbin Nishtikstein rose silently and stood for a few seconds with
his ear pressed to the door.
“Not yet. They are playing an operatic gramophone record out
there.”
“Fine.” Goh opened his folder to a page with a map as the other
man returned to his seat. “Now, this is my understanding of the text:
here in the spring of 1942 we are in the middle of a global conflict,
potentially larger than the Great War. Two military alliances
comprising all the industrialized nations are engaging each other on

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