Page 160 - LEIBY

160 Leiby – Border Smuggler 5

priest his medal. “I received this directly from headquarters in
Berlin, as a token of appreciation for my accomplishments.”

“If so, they’ll be willing to help you,” the priest was pleased.
“They more readily help the big fish in the tank.”

“But I need money,” Yozek mumbled, almost inaudibly. He had
actually had a tremendous amount of gold that he had extracted
from his victims during the war, but he had lost it all in a few
disastrous gambling sessions.

The priest gave him a long, hard look, then left the room. He
returned after a few minutes with a small bundle of notes in
hand. He sighed. “I received this from an unfortunate woman,
one of our flock,” he told Yozek. “The Jews kidnapped her
daughter, Maria. She had been baptized and was as devout as
any Christian, but one day the Bolshevik police just appeared at
their door and took her away. Right now, she’s being cared for
by her brother, together with a group of Jews who crossed the
border over into Slovakia just a few days ago. The woman gave
me this money to use to try and get her daughter back. You’ll
have to infiltrate the group, but I can help you do that. A young
Christian lad discovered all the Jews’ passwords and told me
them all.” The priest jotted down a few words on a blank piece
of paper and handed it to Yozek. “Find the girl, and take her
with you. Once you send us word that she’s safely with you, her
mother will come to fetch her.”

Yozek nodded, confident that he would have no problem
posing as a Jew. He had served as the Shabbos goy in his village
for years and was familiar with all the Jews’ peculiar customs.
They had often treated him with a challah or a plate of cholent,
but he had seethed at having to serve the lowly Jews. After
that, though, the tables had turned, and because he knew the
Jews and their practices, and was well acquainted with their
homes, the streets they lived in, and any possible hiding place
of theirs, the Germans had relied on him to help make the
town Judenrein. They had trusted him because of his German
grandmother, and he had fully justified their trust in him.