The Seventh Cross

Bruno Sauer:
Come in. You want to see me? What can I do for you? [Sauer is at the mirror, shaving with a straight razor]

Paul Roeder:
I bring you the regards of a mutual friend. I wonder if you still remember him. He was with you once on a canoeing excursion. [Sauer pauses and looks frightened, then continues shaving]

Bruno Sauer:
I'm afraid I don't understand. Whose regards are you bringing me?

Paul Roeder:
It was more than three years ago. You said to him that if there was ever something big he wanted done, he could count on you.

Bruno Sauer:
I still don't understand at all. I think you must have the wrong address. You'll have to excuse me. I'm afraid your friend put you in touch with the wrong man. I happen to be in a great hurry just now. Hedy! Will you show this man the door, Hedy? [He continues shaving, but he cuts himself]

Frau Hedy Sauer:
I heard what he said.

Bruno Sauer:
Did you see the little rat slipping around? He tried to drag me into something.

Frau Hedy Sauer:
You've cut yourself. He was speaking of George Heisler, wasn't he?

Bruno Sauer:
How do I know?

Frau Hedy Sauer:
Who was he?

Bruno Sauer:
I never saw the fellow before.

Frau Hedy Sauer:
But he seemed to know what you had said to Heisler.

Bruno Sauer:
He might very well have been the Gestapo.

Frau Hedy Sauer:
He might very well have been sent by Heisler! You didn't even try to find out. You're a coward.

Bruno Sauer:
How could I be sure?

Frau Hedy Sauer:
You've been telling yourself for years that someday you would do something. You never really meant it. You've been fooling yourself, excusing your own weakness. Today you had your chance, and you didn't take it.

Bruno Sauer:
Hedy!

Frau Hedy Sauer:
You were afraid!

Bruno Sauer:
Hedy, please, why do you torture me? What's wrong between us?

Frau Hedy Sauer:
What do you think? When I left home to marry you, it was because everything there was repulsive to me. My father, my brothers, their way of living. I think sometimes of the plans you used to have. What's become of them? The things you used to say, the things you planned to do.

Bruno Sauer:
I can't help it. I don't dare to risk anything. My home, my family, you. I'm very much in love with you, Hedy.

Frau Hedy Sauer:
You've chosen the wrong way to keep me. I'd risk all this, all of it. It's no use to me now, because I've lost my respect for you. It's a shame. It shouldn't have happened.

Bruno Sauer:
I came because I had something to tell you.

Leo Hermann:
We haven't seen you for some time. Sit down.

Bruno Sauer:
No, thank you. I'll just tell you, and then I'll go. A man came to see me this morning. I had never seen him before, but what he told me may be something in which you are interested. He said he came with a message from a mutual friend. He didn't name the mutual friend, but I think he was speaking of George Heisler. You all know that Heisler escaped from Westhofen and is hiding somewhere in the city. He needs help. I think that's why he sent the man to me. I couldn't be sure the man was what he said he was, so I sent him away. I think now I may have been mistaken.

Leo Hermann:
What was the messenger's name?

Bruno Sauer:
I don't know. He didn't tell me.

Leo Hermann:
What did he look like?

Bruno Sauer:
Small, slight, sandy-haired and freckled. Clothes - he might have been a factory worker. He wore glasses.

Franz Marnet:
That must be...

Bruno Sauer:
I don't blame you for not being willing to speak in front of me. I'll go now. I've told you all I know.

Leo Hermann:
Wait. Sit down. You've done a great deal for us. Franz, who's the man?

Franz Marnet:
Paul Roeder. It must be Paul Roeder. Little? A wide mouth? A manner like a boy? I'm not sure where he lives, but I know the neighborhood. I'll inquire at the market.

Leo Hermann:
Welcome home.

Bruno Sauer:
Thank you for speaking of your plans in front of me. It's a good feeling.

[repeated line]

Paul Roeder:
A fine thing!

Fiedler:
Better men than Paul Roeder have cracked.

George Heisler:
There are no better men than Paul Roeder.