Page 152 - LEIBY

152 Leiby – Border Smuggler

entrance was a statue of a young boy, and the sign beneath it
announced that it was a likeness of a boy that the Jews had
killed in order to use his blood for their matzos. Apparently, no
priest or other men of the cloth had ever found it necessary to
verify the truth of the assertion, or to insist that the incitement
to revenge be removed. Leiby had actually confronted a passing
nun who had looked to him to be more compassionate than
the other Christians there, and attempted to talk to her about
the disgrace, but she merely shrugged and said that the statue
had been there for years and she saw no need for change. Her
response had aggravated Leiby no end, and he felt a strong urge
to smash the statue to smithereens and then burn down the
whole place, but of course his hands were tied, and he could
do nothing of the sort. In fact, he was on a mission to acquire
weaponry, and if he would have even just let it become known
that he was Jewish, it was doubtful if he would have left the
building alive, and he certainly would not have attained the
sorely needed merchandise.

Leiby promised the priest that he would keep his eyes open and
look out for any suspicious activities on the Jewish farm, and
that he would try to help find any baptized children who the
Jews were trying to smuggle out of Poland.

The guards on the Slovakian side of the border seemed courteous
enough. They looked at the unending line of refugees walking
past the security booth, listened to Pesach’s fluent Greek and
Dovid’s vigorous hand motions, glanced at the Red Cross
authorizations, then huddled together for a quick consultation.

The breichniks were as tense as a coiled spring. Would they all
be arrested? But how could they imprison such a large number
of people? Perhaps they’d all be sent back to Poland, and would
have to begin the whole process again…