understandingly, as if I had been apologising for the noise made by an inconsiderate neighbour.
Another tank had entered the square now. I could hear it squeaking along the road in the opposite direction to the first one and firing bursts from its machine gun.
Then, the sun went down, and for nearly a minute there was no sound from the square except the squeaking of the tank tracks. Along the Telegraf Road, however, the firing intensified and I could hear the thumping of grenades. The infantry were moving up now, clearing the defended houses that the tanks had left behind them. Now and again, the drifting smoke would be illuminated momentarily by the flash of an explosion below.
A shoe grated outside on the terrace.
“Mr. Fraser.” It was Roda’s voice.
I went to the window. There were no lights on in the apartment, nor was there a moon yet. He was about ten feet away and for a moment I did not see him.
“Yes, Colonel?”
“Come here, please.”
I went over. Beyond him, along the terrace, Sanusi stirred and rested his elbows on the balustrade.
Roda lowered his voice. “I must speak in confidence to you, Mr. Fraser.”
“Yes?”
“It has become necessary for the General and myself to leave this headquarters.”
“Yes?”
“We have done all we can here. It is better to live for a cause than to die for it uselessly. That is our choice now. I have persuaded our Boeng that it is his duty to live.”
“I see.”
“It has been a difficult decision, you will understand.” He paused.
“I can see that.”
“More difficult than you might think.”
“No doubt.” I was trying unavailingly to understand the reason for these confidences.
“For two men, withdrawal from this headquarters is still possible. If more should attempt it, all will fail. There must be secrecy.”
“Of course.” That, at least, I could understand.
“As there was when Napoleon withdrew from Egypt.”
For a moment, I thought that he was making a tasteless joke. But no; his lips were pursed solemnly. He saw himself as the Marmont of this occasion.
I mumbled agreement.
“I tell you this, Mr. Fraser, because there is a matter in which you can help us.”
“Yes?”
“If we are to withdraw successfully we cannot go in our uniforms.”
“I see that.”
“It is the shirts. Our pants will attract no attention. We merely need civilian shirts. I think you have some.”
“Shirts?” I stared at him stupidly.
“Two will be enough. You have clean ones?”
“Yes, I have.” I also had a terrible desire to laugh.
“Then perhaps you will get them.”
“Now?”
“At once, please.”
I turned and went back into the bedroom. In there, I tried switching on the light, but the power was off. Rosalie watched me incredulously, while I struck a match and began fumbling in the drawers. I knew that I had only one clean shirt left. This round would have to be on Jebb. I found the right drawer eventually, picked out two of the oldest shirts there, and took them out on to the terrace. Roda nodded approval.
“I’m afraid they will be a bit large for you, Colonel.”
“That is unimportant.” He folded them carefully and put them in his document case. “They are light-coloured but not…”
“Colonel!” It was Sanusi’s voice.
Roda turned inquiringly.
Sanusi had moved away from the balustrade and was standing in the centre of the terrace. I thought I saw a pistol in his hand, but it was too dark to see properly. At the same moment, there were footsteps in the living room, and Aroff and Major Dahman came out on to the terrace.
“Boeng,” Aroff began, “you sent for us?”
“Yes,” said Sanusi; and then he fired.
The first bullet hit Roda in the stomach. For a second, he stood quite still; then he dropped the document case and took a step forward. The second bullet hit him in the right shoulder and he twisted forward on to his knees. He began to say something, but Sanusi paid no attention to him.
To Aroff and Dahman, he said: “I sent for you to witness an execution.” Then, he went up to Roda and shot him again in the back of the head.
Roda slid forward on to his face.
Aroff and Dahman did not move as Sanusi turned towards them. Across the square, one of the tanks began firing its turret gun.
“What was the offence, Boeng? ” Aroff said.
“He was attempting to desert. You will find the evidence in there.” He shone a flashlight on to the document case. “Open it.”
Aroff walked over to the document case and opened it up. The shirts fell out. He looked up at me.
“Yes, they were from the Englishman,” said Sanusi. “I leave that matter to you. All officers of the defence force must be informed of the execution and the reason. The body should be put where they can see it. For the public I shall issue a simple statement informing them that, in view of the pressure of Colonel Roda’s military duties, I have taken over the Secretaryship of the Party for the time being. There must be no suggestion at this moment of a division in our ranks. I also have to consider world opinion. Firmness in such matters is not always understood.”
He made these announcements with the cool authority of a leader secure in the possession of great power and the habit of using it with wisdom and restraint. He seemed totally unaware of their absurd incongruity. I saw Aroff look at him sharply.
“We have yet to hear from Djakarta,” Sanusi added; “I think the time has come for me to speak to President Soekarno personally.” With a nod to Aroff, he turned and walked away through the living room.
Aroff looked at Dahman, who shrugged slightly, and then at me. “What happened, Mr. Fraser?”
I told him. He made no comment. When I had finished he looked at Dahman.
“Well, Major, what do you think?” He nodded towards Roda’s body. “Perhaps he was right. Of two men, one might be lucky.”
Dahman smiled grimly. “And the other? I have seen Ishak’s way of putting a renegade to death. I would prefer to shoot myself now rather than risk that.”
“Are you a coward, Dahman?”
“About some things, Colonel.”
“So am I.” Aroff handed the shirts to me. “You see, Mr. Fraser? We have no use for them either.” A gun flash lit up his face for an instant as he looked out across the square. “They will have their artillery up soon,” he remarked; “then, there will be no more doubts to trouble us.”
He turned to leave but at the living-room window he paused and looked back. “Mr. Fraser, if Roda had anything else belonging to you, something that you may need, you should take it at once.”
I stood there staring after him uncertainly as he went through into the corridor. Then, Rosalie was at my elbow.
“Steven! He means the pistol.”
“Are you sure?” I was still trying not to be sick.
“Yes. He means you to take the pistol.”
